GIFT   OF 


WRITINGS 

OF 

JOHN    QUINCY   ADAMS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
DALLAS   •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON   •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


WRITINGS 


OF 


JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS 


EDITED    BY 

WORTHINGTON   CHAUNCEY  FORD 


VOL.    I 

1779-1796 


gork 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


,'N 

I-   ^      /     . 


COPYRIGHT,  1913, 
BY  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  January,  1913. 


J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


NOTE 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  son  of  John  and  Abigail  (Smith) 
Adams,  was  born  in  the  North  Parish  of  Braintrcc  (now 
Quincy),  Massachusetts,  on  July  11,  1767.  He  died  in  the 
city  of  Washington,  February  23,  1848.  More  than  fifty 
years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  the  public  service  and  almost 
one-half  of  that  service  was  in  Europe,  as  diplomatic  repre 
sentative  of  the  United  States  in  Great  Britain,  Holland, 
Prussia,  and  Russia.  He  resided  abroad  in  the  period  of  the 
French  Revolution  and  of  Napoleon,  and,  as  intelligencer 
to  the  Department  of  State,  he  described  fully  the  events 
as  they  passed  before  his  eyes,  seeking  the  motives  of  the 
actors  and  the  trend  of  public  policy.  At  an  early  age, 
trained  and  encouraged  by  his  parents,  he  kept  an  almost 
daily  record  of  events,  and  continued  it  for  more  than  sixty 
years,  in  itself  an  extraordinary  labor  to  be  performed  by 
one  who  was  so  active  a  participant  in  the  social  movements 
of  his  day.  He  supplemented  his  official  despatches  with 
letters,  quite  as  detailed  but  in  a  different  vein,  to  family 
and  friends.  His  correspondence,  public  and  private, 
was  his  own,  and  at  no  time  of  his  busy  life  did  he  employ 
a  secretary,  even  for  formal  notes.  His  state  papers,  legis 
lative  and  executive,  were  drafted  and  not  infrequently  fairly 
copied  by  his  own  hand.  His  spare  moments  were  occupied 
in  poetic  composition,  in  translations  from  the  classics, 
from  the  French,  German,  and  Dutch,  and  in  noting  down 
speculations  upon  subjects  immediately  before  him.  He 


25771 1 


vi  NOTE 

never  had  an  idle  moment,  and  the  records  of  his  manifold 
activities  are  full  and  conclusive. 

The  first  publication  from  his  pen  was  his  "oration" 
delivered  at  Commencement,  July  18,  1787,  on  his  grad 
uation  from  Harvard  University.  Through  the  agency 
of  Rev.  Jeremy  Belknap,  this  appeared  in  the  Columbian 
Magazine  (Philadelphia),  September,  1787.  In  June,  1791, 
began  to  appear  in  the  Columbian  Centinel  of  Boston,  his 
letters  of  "Publicola,"  in  which  he  replied  to  Paine's  Age 
of  Reason.  Thereafter  and  throughout  his  life  he  engaged 
in  many  controversies,  wrote  much  upon  public  questions, 
and  delivered  occasional  addresses  upon  many  subjects. 
A  small  part  of  this  controversial  matter  was  printed  at  the 
time,  in  newspapers,  pamphlets,  and  volumes.  A  bibli 
ography  of  his  published  writings,  appended  to  these 
volumes,  will  afford  some  measure  of  their  extent,  variety, 
and  general  interest. 

From  this  great  mass  of  writings  a  selection  only  can  be 
made  for  these  volumes,  with  a  purpose  to  include  what  is 
of  permanent  historical  value,  and  what  is  essential  to  a 
comprehension  of  the  man  in  all  his  private  and  public 
relations.  Nothing  is  suppressed  which  can  contribute  to 
this  purpose,  and  the  text  is  printed  as  it  was  written. 
Where  the  material  itself  is  so  full  and  varied,  elaborate 
annotation  would  be  superfluous.  The  editor  has  restricted 
his  notes  to  the  identification  of  individuals  and  indication 
of  related  material.  In  1874-1877  the  Memoirs  or  Diary 
was  published  in  twelve  volumes,  by  his  son,  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  and  is  used  in  those  volumes  only  when 
needed  to  explain  the  text.  From  the  correspondence  and 
state  papers  the  larger  part  of  this  selection  will  be  drawn, 
and  so  far  as  the  correspondence  is  concerned,  only  a  small 
part  has  heretofore  appeared  in  print. 


NOTE  vii 

To  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Henry  Adams,  and  Brooks 
Adams,  grandsons  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  I  owe  a  debt 
which  I  can  never  pay.  In  his  particular  line  and  gen 
erally,  each  has  been  an  influence  and  encouragement  to 
high  endeavor. 

WORTHINGTON  CHAUNCEY  FORD. 
BOSTON,  November,  1912. 


CONTENTS 

1779 

PACE 

May — .     To  ARTHUR  LEE I 

Acknowledging  gift  of  a  book. 

1780 

December  21.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 2 

His  journey  to  Holland.  Lectures  and  lodgings.  A 
Brovvnist  parson.  Purchase  of  skates  and  riding  needs. 
Vacation. 

1781 

August  21.     To  JOHN  ADAMS       ......         4 

The  journey  to  St.  Petersburg.  The  King  of  Prussia 
and  Berlin.  Courland  and  condition  of  the  farmers. 
Narva. 

1783 

July  23.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 7 

His  return  from  St.  Petersburg.  Treatment  of 
strangers  in  Sweden.  Policy  of  the  king.  Denmark 
and  its  government.  Hamburg  and  its  commerce.  The 
wine  cellars  of  Bremen. 

September  10.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 10 

Government   of    Russia.        Landholders    and    serfs. 
Objections  to  the  system  of  rule.     The  Court  favorites. 
Condition  of  the  serfs. 

1784 
June  6.     To  JOHN  ADAMS     .......       14 

Debate  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Comments  on 
the  speakers,  Pitt,  Fox,  and  North. 


x  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

June  1 8.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 15 

Further  comments  on  debates  in  the  Commons.  Pitt 
and  Fox  compared. 

1785 

August  3.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 17 

Arrives  at  New  York.  Courtesies  from  Richard  Henry 
Lee  and  John  Jay.  Anxiety  to  hear  from  England. 
Duties  on  imports  into  the  States.  Fear  and  jealousy 
of  Great  Britain.  The  Massachusetts  election.  Con 
tinental  Board  of  Treasury.  The  French  charge  to 
leave. 

1786 

May  21.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 21 

Williams'  lectures  on  natural  philosophy.  Books 
wanted.  Course  of  study.  Humphreys'  poem.  Prom 
ising  students.  Winthrop  and  Sewall.  Commencement 
exercises.  Syllogistic  disputes.  Charlestown  bridge. 

August  30.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 26 

Plans  to  study  law.  Character  of  his  college  class. 
Intrigue  in  class  honors.  Has  a  mathematical  part. 

December  30.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 28 

Popular  outbreaks  against  courts.  Irresolution  in 
the  executive.  Government  will  probably  be  altered. 
Is  a  good  republican. 

1787 

June  30.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 29 

Has  some  relief  from  employment.  A  college  exhibi 
tion.  Subject  of  Commencement  oration.  The  State 
election.  Paper  money.  Hancock's  bid  for  popularity. 
The  "Defence  of  the  Constitutions."  The  lieutenant 
governorship.  The  Cincinnati. 

August  6.     To  JEREMY  BELKNAP 34 

On  publishing  his  oration  delivered  at  Commencement. 


CONTENTS  xi 

PAGE 

December  23.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 36 

At  Newburyport  with  Theophilus  Parsons.  Opinion 
of  the  law.  Popular  odium  excited  against  lawyers. 
His  lodgings.  Thaxter's  downfall. 

1789 

June  28.     To  JOHN  ADAMS  .......       40 

Law  studies  and  their  application.  As  to  his  settle 
ment.  Parsons'  expectations.  The  State  election. 
Proposed  plan  of  finance  by  a  lottery.  The  federal  con 
gress  and  judiciary. 

November  — .     ADDRESS   TO    PRESIDENT   WASHINGTON    BY 

THE  CITIZENS  OF  NEWBURYPORT 43 

1790 

March  19.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 44 

The  judicial  appointments  and  his  own  settlement. 
Conditions  in  Newburyport,  Braintree,  and  Boston. 
Question  of  house  in  Boston.  The  father's  law  library. 
Political  matters.  Cushing's  appointment. 

April  5.     To  JOHN  ADAMS    ...  ...       49 

The  federal  and  the  State  governments.  Cession  of 
light-houses.  Amendments  to  the  national  constitution 
proposed.  Cushing's  appointment.  Complaints  against 
the  federal  government.  Assumption  of  State  debts  and 
Madison's  position.  Hamilton's  report. 

August  14.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 55 

The  Columbia's  voyage  to  the  Pacific.  Qualities  of 
a  journal. 

September  21.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 56 

Lawyers  of  the  city.  James  Sullivan.  William  Tudor. 
Thomas  Dawes,  Jun.  Christopher  Gore.  Amory, 
Wetmore,  Otis,  and  Lowell. 


xii  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


October  17.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 59 

Elections  to  Congress.  A  loan  in  Europe.  His  first 
address  to  a  jury. 

October  19.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 61 

Town  meeting  and  selecting  a  representative.  In 
crease  of  commerce  and  industry.  Cultivation  of  hemp. 
Events  in  France. 

1791 

June -July.     LETTERS  OF  PUBLICOLA 65 

Paine  and  the  Revolution  in  France. 

1792 
February  I.     To  THOMAS  BOYLSTON  ADAMS       .         .         .no 

On  a  committee  to  reform  police  of  Boston.  Report 
rejected.  History  of  the  measure  and  his  participation. 
Austin's  opposition.  Simple  democracy  as  a  govern 
ment.  Russell  assaults  Austin.  His  law  practice.  In 
corporation  of  the  town  of  Quincy. 

February  4.     To  JOHN  ADAMS     .         .         .         .         .         .115 

A  town  meeting  favors  repeal  of  law  prohibiting  theat 
rical  exhibitions.  A  counter-petition.  The  appoint 
ment  of  Dawes  to  the  bench.  Opposition  of  Sullivan 
and  Dana.  The  theatre  question. 

December  8.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 120 

Vote  for  President  and  Vice-President.  Players  routed 
by  the  Governor.  Error  of  the  Attorney-General. 

December  16.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 123 

The  Presidential  election.  Mob  threaten  to  pull  down 
the  play-house.  His  answer  to  Sullivan.  The  Governor 
and  the  electors.  Establishment  of  a  French  news 
paper.  Attacks  upon  John  Adams. 

December  19.     "MENANDER" 127 

On  the  theatre  incident,  a  reply  to  Sullivan. 


CONTENTS  xiii 

PACE 

December  22.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 130 

Result  of  the  Presidential  election.  Continued  agita 
tion  on  the  question  of  the  theatre.  Otis  and  Sullivan. 

1793 

February  10.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 133 

A  commercial  crisis  in  Boston.  Desires  to  be  uncon 
nected  with  politics.  A  civic  feast. 

April — .     "  MARCELLUS  " 135 

On  Genet's  conduct  of  his  mission. 

July  29.     FROM  CHARLES  ADAMS      ....  .     146 

His  oration  on  Independence  Day.  Violence  of  the 
French  faction.  Judge  Peters*  decision.  Letters  of 
"Pacificus." 

November-December.     "  COLUMBUS"          ....     148 
On  Genet's  diplomatic  acts. 

1794 
January  5.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 176 

Newspaper  controversy  by  "  Americanus  "and  "  Barne- 
veld."  Letters  of  "  Columbus  "  approved  and  criticised. 
Some  jealousy  displayed.  Danger  from  internal  divi 
sions.  Return  of  Sullivan. 

March  2.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 179 

Town  meeting  on  Madison's  commercial  resolutions. 
Fauchet's  arrival.  Sullivan's  attitude. 

March  24.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 181 

British  seizure  of  American  merchant  ships.  Popular 
aversion  to  war.  Attempt  to  have  a  second  civic  festi 
val.  Adams  probably  to  be  governor. 

April  12.     To  JOHN  ADAMS  ......     183 

Tolerably  firm  for  neutrality.  Election  of  governor. 
His  law  practice  and  other  activities. 


xiv  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


April  22.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 186 

Sequestration  of  debts.  A  direct  act  of  hostility.  The 
example  of  the  King  of  Prussia. 

May  26.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 189 

Petition  on  snuff  and  tobacco.  The  embargo  and 
peace.  Local  election. 

May  30.     COMMISSION  TO  THE  NETHERLANDS     .         .         .     191 

July  10.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 192 

A  speedy  departure  desired.     Ten  days  allowed. 

July  27.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 193 

Delayed  by  Hamilton's  absence.  Mission  limited  to 
a  pecuniary  negotiation.  Effects  upon  his  own  position 
and  prospects. 

July  29.     INSTRUCTIONS 198 

October  23.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 201 

In  danger  of  losing  his  despatches.  Jay's  communi 
cations  on  the  pending  treaty.  It  is  better  than  war. 
Situation  in  the  Netherlands  liable  to  change.  Separate 
negotiations  for  peace.  Fall  of  Robespierre.  Despotic 
rule  in  Britain.  France  and  Great  Britain  compared. 

November  2.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE      .         .         .     209 

Peaceful  aspect  of  the  Netherlands.  Advance  of  the 
French  armies.  Mission  of  Fagel  and  to  Austria.  Policy 
of  the  Patriots.  Private  property  respected.  The 
future  of  his  mission. 

November  5.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE       .         .         .     214 

Delivery  of  his  credentials.  Reasons  for  detailing  the 
forms. 

November  7.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  .     .         .218 

Loan  discouraged.  Making  peace  with  France.  Posi 
tion  of  Great  Britain.  British  feared  more  than  the 
French.  Intelligence  from  the  armies.  Effect  of  the 
Western  insurrection  in  the  United  States. 


CONTENTS  xv 

PACK 

November  9.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 224 

Noevidencesof  disturbance  in  the  Netherlands.  Oppo 
sition  to  the  government  crushed.  Causes  of  the  extreme 
debility  of  defence.  People  apparently  anxious  to  be 
conquered. 

November  16.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     .         .         .     227 

An  audience  with  theStadtholder.  News  of  the  armies. 
Arrest  of  General  Eustace.  Sentence  upon  Visscher  and 
associates.  Release  of  Eustace. 

November  19.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     .         .         .     230 

Little  prospect  of  a  general  peace.  Britain  to  continue 
the  war.  Declaration  of  France  as  to  other  countries. 
Difficulty  of  getting  intelligence.  Conversation  with 
the  Portuguese  minister.  As  to  starving  a  nation. 
Effect  of  a  cold  season. 

November  22.     To  JAMES  MONROE     .....     235 

The  case  of  Boylston's  vessel,  and  its  importance  to 
interests  of  the  United  States.  Burden  of  additional  in 
surance  on  ships.  Hopes  for  a  correspondence. 

November  24.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     .         .         .237 

American  commerce  and  treaty  with  the  Netherlands. 
Merchants  uncommunicative.  Contraband  articles. 
Discriminating  duties.  Signs  of  a  peace.  The  Polish 
insurrection.  Escape  of  Lafayette.  A  cockade  distrib 
uted. 

December  2.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  .         .         .     .     241 

Effect  of  rumors  of  peace.  Great  Britain  to  continue 
the  war.  Position  of  the  Netherlands.  English  refused 
admission  to  Delft. 

December  2.     To  JOHN  JAY 244 

Conclusion  of  Jay's  negotiation.  Desire  for  peace. 
Application  of  Voltravers. 


xvi  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

December  3.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 246 

Situation  of  Dumas  and  Luzac.  No  real  prospects  of 
peace.  The  Netherlands  and  a  protector.  Relations 
with  Baron  St.  Helens. 

December  22.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     .         .         .     248 

Meeting  with  Van  der  Spiegel.  Case  of  an  American 
vessel.  Reported  discontent  among  the  negroes  at  Dem- 
arara.  Restrictions  on  commerce.  Conduct  of  General 
Eustace.  Consuls  in  the  Dutch  West  Indies.  Case  of 
Eustace. 

December  21.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 254 

Commissioners  for  peace  with  France.  Great  want  of 
money.  The  Dutch  representative  to  the  United  States. 

1795 
January  3.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  .         .         .     255 

Application  from  the  Sardinian  charge.  Reasons  for 
denying  his  requests. 

Jamiary  7.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE          .         .         .258 

Negotiations  for  a  peace  with  France.  The  necessity 
for  it  and  the  consequences. 

January  19.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE        .         .         .     260 

The  French  enter  Amsterdam.  Provisional  munici 
pality  appointed  and  in  charge  of  affairs.  Stadtholder 
probably  out  of  the  country. 

January  22.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE         .         .         .     263 

Commissioners  from  the  Convention.  Order  and  dis 
cipline  preserved.  Protection  of  American  property. 

January  24.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE         .         .         .     266 

Conversation  with  Schimmelpenninck.  Modifications 
of  administrative  institutions. 


CONTENTS  xvii 

PAGE 

February  I.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE         .         .         .     268 

Interview  with  the  French  representatives.  Exodus  of 
members  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  A  descent  upon  Eng 
land  considered. 

February  2.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY          .     270 

Unfavorable  conditions  for  a  loan.  Interest  payable 
at  Antwerp  not  sent  to  that  place.  Attitude  of  the 
bankers  at  Amsterdam.  Certain  incidents  connected 
with  banking  operations. 

February  5.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE        .         .         .     274 

Visit  to  Paulus,  President  of  the  Assembly.  Reflec 
tions  on  the  revolution.  Relations  with  the  United 
States.  A  direct  commerce  with  the  Netherlands. 

February  12.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 276 

Advance  of  the  French  army.  Measure  for  peace  with 
France.  Entry  of  French  into  Amsterdam.  Changes 
in  the  city's  administration.  The  provincial  government 
constituted.  Discipline  of  the  army.  A  convention  to 
frame  a  constitution  in  prospect.  Friends  in  power. 
The  French  representatives  and  Pichegru.  Effect  upon 
the  system  of  Europe. 

February  15.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE       .         .         .     285 

The  Dutch  commissioners  at  Paris.  What  they  rep 
resent.  Objects  of  the  Revolutionary  Committee. 
Relative  situation  of  the  Netherlands  and  France. 
Address  to  the  Convention.  Arrest  of  Lelyveld.  Na 
tional  independence  and  sovereignty. 

February  19.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE      .         .         .     291 

Regulation  of  the  import  of  flour.  Acts  of  the  new 
States  General.  Reply  of  the  Convention  to  the  Dutch 
Commissioners.  Address  to  the  French  representatives. 
Boundaries  of  France.  System  of  moderation  pursued. 
A  state  of  war  to  continue.  Universal  suffrage.  With 
drawal  of  the  French  army.  The  use  of  English  in 
official  communications.  Eustace  at  Paris. 


xviii  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


February  22.     To  SYLVANUS  BOURNE          ....     297 

Letter  from  Monroe.  A  mysterious  affair.  Will  do 
what  he  is  able  to  help  Madame  de  Lafayette. 

February  25.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE      .         .         .     298 

Ministers  from  Holland  to  France.  Leyden  professors 
dismissed.  Address  to  the  troops  of  the  Netherlands. 
Little  prospect  of  a  general  pacification.  Conquest  in 
view.  Dismissal  of  Van  Hees. 

March  17.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  .         .         .         .301 

Foreign  communications  interrupted.  A  tranquil  con 
dition  and  changes  in  government.  Naval  matters. 
Loans  demanded  of  the  cities.  Fate  of  the  country  un 
decided.  Forms  and  substance  of  independence.  Cir 
culation  of  paper  money. 

March  19.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  ....     305 

Friendly  dispositions  towards  the  United  States.  Law 
prohibiting  export  of  specie.  A  temporary  regulation 
and  enforcement  discretionary.  American  vessels 
stopped  at  the  Texel.  Interview  with  Alquier.  Private 
and  public  property.  Use  of  English  in  official  commu 
nications. 

April  i.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 310 

Policy  of  the  Patriots,  old  and  new.  A  convention 
for  forming  a  constitution.  Presence  of  the  French  re 
presses  disorder.  Navy  and  finances.  Neutral  com 
merce  encouraged.  Paris  Convention  takes  measures 
against  dissolution  by  violence. 

April  7.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE       .         .         .         .316 

All  plate  called  in  to  be  coined.  Rumored  peace  be 
tween  France  and  Prussia  and  the  effect.  Treatment  of 
Amsterdam  by  Assembly.  Jealousy  among  the  prov 
inces.  France  will  prevail.  Military  events. 


CONTEXTS  xix 

PAGE 

April  10.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY       .         .     321 

Interest  on  the  Antwerp  loan.  Remittances  prevented. 
Attitude  of  the  Amsterdam  bankers.  Remittance  to 
Mr.  Pinckney.  A  new  loan  out  of  the  question. 

April  14.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE    ....     326 

Outbreak  in  Paris.  Arrest  of  members  of  the  Conven 
tion.  Purpose  of  the  commotion.  Negotiations  between 
France  and  Prussia.  Ministers  of  the  Netherlands  not 
received  at  Paris.  The  Dutch  republic  ruined.  Euro 
pean  intelligence. 

April  25.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 331 

Popular  societies  in  the  Netherlands.  Has  been  asked 
to  become  a  member.  Has  been  entirely  neutral. 
Public  opinion  in  France. 

May  i.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE       ....     334 

Causes  of  recent  outbreaks.  The  Netherlands'  rela 
tion  to  France.  Stories  about  the  treaty  with  Prussia. 
Rumored  restoration  of  the  Stadtholder.  Alliance  with 
France.  Spiritof  party  prevails.  The  European  horizon. 

May  4.     To  JOHN  ADAMS .     339 

Uncertainties  of  letters.  Gratified  by  notice  of  his 
first  communication.  Van  Staphorst.  Situation  of  the 
American  minister.  Political  future  of  the  Netherlands. 
Democracy  in  France. 

May  14.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     .         .  .     344 

Secret  mission  from  the  French  Convention.  General 
situation  in  the  Netherlands  and  Europe.  The  Dutch 
navy.  Conversation  with  Sieyes  on  the  Jay  treaty. 

May  19.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     ....     348 

Terms  of  a  treaty  between  the  Netherlands  and  France. 
New  election  in  Amsterdam.  Change  in  policy  of  Euro 
pean  cabinets.  Neutrality  of  the  United  States.  Scarc 
ity  of  provisions. 


XX 


CONTENTS 


May  22.     To  JOHN  ADAMS  .  .     353 

Reflections  upon  his  own  position.  The  Dutch-French 
treaty  interpreted.  Centre  of  combination  among  the 
powers.  Intentions  of  France  and  the  Jay  treaty.  War 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  France 
less  cordial  to  America.  Effect  of  ratifying  the  treaty. 
Cost  of  French  friendship.  Internal  state  of  France 
critical. 

June  24.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     ....     363 

Popular  societies  in  the  Netherlands.  Opposed  to 
moderation.  Their  demands  at  Rotterdam.  How 
settled  for  the  time.  Feeling  against  former  government. 

June  25.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE      ....     368 

Plan  for  a  national  convention.  Indifference  to  theo 
ries  of  government.  The  Rotterdam  affair.  Treaty  with 
France  ratified.  The  new  French  constitution  and  its 
provisions  for  legislature  and  executive. 

June  27.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 371 

Approbation  is  pleasant  to  him.  No  confidence  in 
Eustace.  Insurrection  at  Paris.  Renewed  war  in  La 
Vendee.  Death  of  Louis  XVII.  Naval  superiority  of 
Britain.  Forgery  and  famine.  Invective  and  spirit  of  tur 
bulence.  The  Rotterdam  incident.  The  new  Consti 
tution.  Has  received  instructions  for  his  conduct. 

June  29.     To  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 380 

Austin's  defeat  for  state  senator.  Answer  to  the 
Chronicle. 

July  27.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 381 

Proposition  for  a  National  Convention.  The  new 
French  Constitution.  Opposition  to  the  Convention. 
Little  prospect  of  tranquillity.  Conflict  of  songs.  Mil 
itary  movements.  Future  of  European  monarchies. 
Situation  in  the  Netherlands. 


CONTEXTS  xxi 

PAGE 

August  15.     To  SYLVANUS  BOURNE 390 

The  consular  office,  appointments  and  salaries. 

August  20.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  .         .         .     392 

Regulation  of  passports.  Naturalized  citizens.  Mis 
use  of  the  flag  of  the  United  States.  Consuls  and  their 
emoluments. 

August  25.      LETTER  OF  CREDENCE 396 

August  25.     INSTRUCTIONS 397 

August  31.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 400 

French  Constitution  adopted.  Sieves'  plan  of  a  con 
stitution  rejected.  System  of  balances.  Election  of  a 
new  legislature.  Dissolution  of  the  popular  societies. 
Division  of  the  Moderates.  French  influence  in  Amer 
ica.  A  national  convention.  Navy,  commerce,  and 
finance. 

September  12.     To  JOHN  ADAMS  .  .  .     408 

Ambition  and  affections  gratified  by  approbation. 
Intention  of  involving  the  United  States  in  the  war. 
Europe  anti-republican.  The  Jay  treaty.  Power  of 
Great  Britain.  Connections  with  France.  The  new 
Constitution.  Dependent  condition  of  the  Netherlands. 
The  corps  diplomatique.  Recall  of  Van  Berckel. 
Dumas'  vindication. 

September  15.     To  CHARLES  ADAMS    .         .         .         .         .417 

The  Presidency  and  John  Adams.  Revolutions  of 
public  opinion.  Treatment  of  Jay. 

October  12.     To  DANIEL  SARGENT 419 

Peace  the  policy  of  the  United  States. 

October  i(>.     To    \Y.    &   J.    WILLINK    AND    N.    &   J.    VAN 

STAPHORST  AND  HUBBARD 420 

Instructions  and  sales.  Position  explained.  Payment 
of  interest  to  De  Wolf. 


xxii  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


October  3 1.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 423 

Mission  to  London  without  attractions.  Promotion 
in  the  service.  Is  satisfied  with  the  situation  at  The 
Hague. 

November  4.     To  CHARLES  ADAMS      .....     426 

Question  of  a  National  Assembly.  Aristocracy  and 
republicanism. 

November  15.     To  TIMOTHY  PICKERING     ....     427 

Randolph  and  the  opposition  to  the  British  treaty. 
General  peace  probable.  Bread  riots  and  insults  to  the 
king.  Measures  for  his  protection. 

November  17.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 430 

Randolph's  resignation.  Members  of  French  direc 
tory.  Position  of  Sieves.  Conditions  at  Paris. 

December  5.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE       .         .         .     434 

Conference  with  Lord  Grenville.  Compensation  to 
commissioners  under  the  Jay  treaty.  Questions  of  con 
demned  cargoes.  Order  on  American  provision  vessels. 
Compensation  for  what  is  taken.  Importance  of  ques 
tion  to  the  United  States.  Delivery  of  the  Western 
posts.  Reparation  for  violation  of  territorial  jurisdic 
tion.  Revocation  of  Consul  Moore's  exequatur.  Im 
pressment  of  seamen  from  American  ships.  Secretaries 
to  the  commissions.  Reflections  on  the  matters  in  con 
ference. 

December  9.     To  LORD  GRENVILLE 449 

His  diplomatic  character  and  the  presentation  to  the 
king. 

December  15.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE     .         .         .     450 

Attempt  to  give  him  a  diplomatic  character  other  than 
the  true  one.  Search  for  a  motive. 

December  16.     To  SYLVANUS  BOURNE         ....     453 
Attacks  upon  the  President.     Randolph's  resignation. 


CONTENTS  xxiii 

PAGE 

December  19.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE      .  .     454 

Alienage  and  residence.  Neutral  trade.  Case  of  the 
Dutch  ships.  Blockades.  Transfer  of  property.  Pot 
ash  not  contraband.  Cases  before  the  Lords  of  Appeal. 
No  strong  reliance  on  verbal  declarations. 

December  22.     To  TIMOTHY  PICKERING      ....     461 

British  expedition  to  the  West  Indies.  Ambition  for 
maritime  supremacy.  Interests  of  the  United  States. 
No  commercial  liberality  in  Great  Britain.  West  Ind 
ian  produce  in  neutral  vessels.  Imports  of  grain. 

December  24.     To  SYLVANUS  BOURNE  .         .     466 

Affairs  in  the  United  States.  Prosperity  and  neutral 
ity.  President  Washington.  Treaties  and  French  in 
fluence.  Americans  and  France. 

December  29.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 470 

On  performing  a  public  service.  Commercial  negotia 
tion  with  Great  Britain.  Grenville  and  Hammond. 
Relaxation  of  the  navigation  laws.  The  order  of  No 
vember,  1793.  Abuse  of  President  and  its  purpose. 

1796 

February  10.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 476 

Randolph's  Vindication.  British  hostility  to  the 
United  States. 

March  20.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 478 

Peace  desired.  Great  Britain  and  France  to  negotiate, 
but  dread  peace.  Burke's  pamphlet. 

April  4.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 481 

Anti-neutral  views  of  the  French  government.  A  new 
French  minister  and  Paine.  Randolph  and  the  treaty 
obligations.  Attack  upon  Washington.  Exciting  fear 
in  ruling  men.  Remodelling  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  The  Western  posts.  Maritime  suprem 
acy. 


xxiv  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


May  30.     COMMISSION  TO  PORTUGAL 488 

June  4.     To  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE       ....     489 

Combination  against  British  commercial  supremacy. 
Changes  in  the  Netherlands. 

June  6.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 490 

Effect  of  resolution  on  the  Jay  treaty.  French  influ 
ence  and  party  manoeuvring.  Paine's  pamphlet  on 
English  finance. 

June  9.     To  CHARLES  ADAMS 493 

France  not  favorable  to  American  union.  Impor 
tance  of  the  union. 

June  n.     FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE          .         .         .     494 

His  appointment  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Por 
tugal. 

June  15.     To  MADAME  DE  LAFAYETTE        ....     496 

Was  unable  to  comply  with  her  wish,  but  referred  it 
to  Mr.  Pinckney.  Anxious  to  do  all  in  his  power  for 
her  aid. 

June  24.     To  JOHN  ADAMS 497 

The  Jay  treaty.  Surrender  of  the  Western  posts. 
Good  faith  of  the  British  government.  Danger  of 
American  commerce.  Method  of  English  attack.  Check 
to  commercial  speculation.  Importance  of  neutral 
policy.  System  pursued  by  France.  Opinion  in  Amer 
ica  on  European  affairs.  Importance  of  orders  of  Privy 
Council. 


WRITINGS 

OF 

JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS 


WRITINGS  OF  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS 


TO  ARTHUR  LEE1 
Q  ALLIANCE,  MINDEN,  May        ,  1779. 

oIR, 

I  have  received  a  volume  entitled  "Fondemens  de  la 
Jurisprudence  naturelle,  traduit  du  Latin,  de  Mr.  Pestel, 
professeur  en  Droit  public  a  Leyde,"  which  you  did  me  the 
honour  to  send  me  as  a  present.  I  entreat  you,  sir,  to  accept 
of  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  proof  of  your  attention  to  me. 

1  From  the  original  in  the  New  York  Public  Library.  In  November,  1777,  Con 
gress  determined  to  recall  Silas  Dcane  from  France,  and  on  the  28th  chose  John  Ad 
ams  to  be  his  successor.  He  accepted  the  appointment,  and  on  February  13,  1778, 
with  his  son  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  a  boy  of  ten  years  old,  embarked  on  the  frigate 
Boston,  lying  in  the  roadstead  of  Boston.  The  story  of  the  voyage  is  told  in  the 
Diary  of  John  Adams,  printed  in  Life  and  Works  of  John  Adams,  III.  94;  and  the 
Ms.  log-book  of  the  captain,  Samuel  Tucker,  is  in  the  Adams  Mss.  As  fellow- 
passengers  were  Jesse,  son  of  Silas  Deanc,  and  a  son  of  William  Vcrnon,  of  the  Con 
tinental  Navy  Board,  both  about  the  same  age  as  John  Quincy  Adams;  also  two 
French  officers  returning  to  France  and  the  French  surgeon  of  the  vessel,  Nicholas 
Noel,  of  whom  the  young  Adams  received  some  lessons  in  French.  They  landed 
at  Bordeaux,  April  I,  and  arrived  at  Paris,  April  8.  Six  days  later  the 
son  was  placed  with  Le  Cocur,  master  of  the  academy  or  pension  at  Passy, 
and  he  went  "much  pleased  with  the  prospect,  because  he  understood 
that  rewards  were  given  to  the  best  scholars,  which,  he  said,  was  an  en 
couragement.  Dancing,  fencing,  music,  and  drawing  are  taught  at  this  school,  as 
well  as  French  and  Latin."  Adams,  Works,  III.  132.  Jesse  Deane  and  Benjamin 
Franklin  Bache,  later  the  editor  of  the  Philadelphia  Aurora,  were  placed  in  the  same 
pension.  Nearly  a  year  passed  when  the  father  resolved  to  return  to  America,  and 
intended  to  sail  in  the  frigate  Alliance,  from  Nantes.  The  French  government 
changed  her  destination,  and  after  a  delay  of  three  months  at  Nantes  and  L'Orient, 
lather  and  son  embarked  on  the  French  frigate  Sensible,  having  as  fellow-passengers 
the  new  minister  to  the  United  States,  M.  de  la  Luzerne,  and  his  secretary  of  legation, 
Barbe  de  Marbois.  Sailing  June  17,  1779,  the  ship  arrived  at  Boston,  August  2. 

B  I 


2  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1780 

It  was  very  good  in  you,  to  turn  my  young  head  to  such  a 
subject  so  important  in  itself,  and  likely  to  be  particularly 
so  to  our  Country.  I  will  endeavour  to  make  the  best  use 
of  it  I  can,  as  soon  as  I  shall  be  able  to  comprehend  it. 

Please  to  present  my  Respects  to  your  Nephew,  and 
believe  me  with  great  Veneration,  yours  etc. 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LEYDEN,  December  2ist,  lySo.1 
HONOURED  SIR, 

Mr.  Thaxter  and  brother  Charles  wrote  both  to  you 
the  day  before  yesterday,  and  as  I  had  no  subject  to  write 

Under  date  June  20  the  father  wrote  in  his  Diary :  "  The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne 
and  M.  Marbois  are  in  raptures  with  my  son.  They  get  him  to  teach  them  the  lan 
guage.  I  found  this  morning  the  Ambassador  seated  on  the  cushion  in  our  state 
room,  M.  Marbois  in  his  cot,  at  his  left  hand,  and  my  son  stretched  out  in  his,  at 
his  right.  The  Ambassador  reading  out  loud  in  Blackstone's  Discourse  at  his 
entrance  on  his  Professorship  of  the  Common  Law  at  the  University,  and  my  son 
correcting  the  pronunciation  of  every  word  and  syllable  and  letter.  The  Ambassa 
dor  said  he  was  astonished  at  my  son's  knowledge ;  that  he  was  a  master  of  his  own 
language,  like  a  professor.  M.  Marbois  said,  your  son  teaches  us  more  than  you ; 
he  has  point  de  grace,  point  cTeloges.  He  shows  us  no  mercy,  and  makes  us  no  com 
pliments.  We  must  have  Mr.  John."  Works,  III.  214. 

On  September  27,  1779,  John  Adams  was  chosen  by  Congress  to  be  minister  pleni 
potentiary  for  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace  and  a  treaty  of  commerce  with  Great 
Britain,  and  Francis  Dana  to  be  his  secretary.  The  French  minister  offered  the 
Sensible  for  their  passage,  and  on  November  13  they  went  on  board  the  vessel  in 
Boston  harbor,  with  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  twelve  years,  and  his  brother  Charles, 
nine  years  old.  They  landed  at  Ferrol,  Spain,  December  8,  and  went  by  land  to 
Paris,  where  the  two  boys  were  placed  in  Le  Cceur's  pension.  John  Adams,  Works, 
III.  229.  With  this  journey  the  Diary  of  John  Quincy  Adams  really  begins,  for  in  the 
previous  year  his  father  had  given  him  pencil  and  pencil-book,  and  told  him  to  note 
the  events  which  happened  to  him,  the  objects  seen,  and  the  persons  conversed  with 
from  day  to  day.  He  also  received  a  blank-book  in  which  to  preserve  copies  of  all 
his  letters.  The  record  was  not  complete,  and  intervals  occurred  without  notes  or 
letters,  with  promises  of  greater  industry  and  perseverance. 

1  Beginning  with  September,  1780,  he  and  his  brother  Charles  attended  the  Latin 
School  at  Amsterdam,  whose  history  went  back  to  1342.  He  notes  little  of  his 


i78o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  3 

upon  I  did  not  write.  But  I  can  now  give  you  an  account 
of  our  journey. 

We  dined  on  Monday  at  Haerlem,  and  arrived  at  Leyden 
at  six  o'clock.  We  lodged  at  the  Cour  de  Hollande  and  saw 
Air.  Waterhouse  *  that  evening.  The  next  day  we  went  to 
hear  a  medicinal  lecture  by  Professor  Horn.  WTe  saw  several 
experiments  there.  In  the  afternoon  we  went  to  hear  a 
law  lecture  by  Professor  PesteL*  Each  lecture  lasts  an  hour. 

Yesterday  afternoon  we  moved  from  the  Cour  de  Hollande 
to  private  lodgings  in  the  same  house  in  which  Mr.  Waterhouse 
boards.  Our  address  is  Mr.  &c.  by  de  Heer  Welters,  op  de 
langc  Burg,  tegen  over  6  Mantel  Huis,  Leyden. 

I  was  to  day  in  company  with  the  parson  of  the  brownist 
church,  who  seems  to  be  a  clever  man.  He  is  a  scotch-man, 
but  does  not  pray  for  the  King  of  Kngland. 

I  should  be  glad  to  have  a  pair  of  scates.  They  are  of 
various  prices,  from  3  guilders  to  3  ducats.  Those  of  a 
ducat  are  as  good  as  need  to  be,  but  I  should  like  to  know 
whether  you  would  chusc  to  have  me  give  so  much. 

studies  in  his  "journal,"  save  that  he  and  Ins  brother  had  a  separate  room  for 
study,  "because  we  do  not  understand  the  Dutch,"  and  every  Wednesday  and 
Saturday  they  went  to  their  father's  lodging  for  the  stated  holidays.  He  was  read 
ing  the  Spectator,  the  Tatlfr,and  the  Guardian,  from  which  he  made  extracts  in  his 
journal.  John  Adams  notes  in  his  Diary,  January  n,  1781:  "Was  present  from 
12  to  i  o'clock,  when  the  preceptor  gave  his  lessons  in  Latin  and  Greek  to  my 
sons.  His  name  is  Wcnsing.  He  is  apparently  a  great  master  of  the  two  langua  ; 
besides  which,  he  speaks  French  and  Dutch  very  well;  understands  little  Knglish, 
but  is  desirous  of  learning  it;  he  obliges  his  pupils  to  be  industrious,  and  they  both 
made  great  progress  for  the  time ;  he  is  pleased  with  them,  and  they  with  him.  John 
is  transcribing  a  Greek  Grammar,  of  his  master's  composition,  and  Charles,  a  Latin 
one;  John  is  also  transcribing  a  treatise  on  Roman  antiquities,  of  his  master's 
writing.  The  master  gives  his  lessons  in  French."  Jl'orks  of  John  .-Idams,  III.  269. 
In  this  month  John  was  matriculated  into  the  University  of  Leyden,  "  the  most  cele 
brated  university  in  Europe."  Here  he  remained  until  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg  as 
secretary  to  Francis  Dana,  chosen  in  March,  1781,  to  be  minister  to  Russia. 

1  Benjamin  Waterhouse  (1754-1846).        -  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Pestel  (1724-1805). 


4  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1781 

Mr.  Waterhouse  says  that  for  riding  I  must  have  a  pair 
leather  breeches  and  a  pair  of  boots.  I  should  be  glad  if  you 
would  answer  me  upon  that  as  soon  as  you  receive  this  for 
there  is  a  vacancy  [vacation]  here  which  begins  tomorrow, 
and  in  the  vacancy  is  the  best  time  to  begin  to  learn  how  to 
ride. 

In  the  vacancy  there  will  be  no  lectures  at  all,  but  our 
Master  will  attend  us  all  the  while,  as  much  as  when  there 
is  no  vacancy. 

I  continue  writing  in  Homer,  the  Greek  grammar  and 
Greek  testament  every  day.  I  am  your  most  dutiful  son. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  August  21,  1781,  O.S. 
HONOUR'D  SIR  : 

We  arrived  here  on  Monday  the  16/27  inst't,  having 
left  Amsterdam  the  7th  of  July  (N.S.)  and  rode  the  greatest 
part  of  the  way  day  and  night.  The  distance  is  about  2400 
English  miles. 

The  first  place  of  any  consequence  we  stopp'd  at  was 
Berlin,  the  capital  of  the  King  of  Prussia's  Dominions ; 
this  is  a  very  pretty  town,  much  more  so  than  Paris,  or 
London,  as  Mr.  Dana  says ;  but  it  will  be  still  more  so  if 
the  present  King's  l  plan  is  adopted  by  his  successor,  for 
wherever  there  is  a  row  of  low,  small  houses,  he  sends  the 
owners  out  of  them,  pulls  them  down,  and  has  large,  elegant 
houses  built  in  the  same  place,  and  then  sends  the  owners  in 
again.  But  notwithstanding  this,  he  is  not  beloved  in  Ber 
lin,  and  every  body  says  publicly  what  he  pleases  against 
the  King ;  but  as  long  as  they  do  not  go  further  than  words, 

1  Frederick  II,  the  Great. 


i78i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  5 

he  don't  take  any  notice  of  it,  but  says  that  as  long  as  they 
give  him  all  he  asks  they  may  say  what  they  will. 

But  they  have  great  reason  to  complain  of  him,  for  he 
certainly  treats  them  like  slaves.  Among  other  things,  if  a 
farmer  has  two  or  more  sons  the  eldest  inherits  all  the  land 
and  all  the  others  (when  of  age)  are  soldiers  for  life  at  a 
gros[chen]  and  a  half,  which  is  about  two  pence  sterling  per 
day,  and  they  must  with  that  find  their  own  provisions  ;  if  a 
farmer  has  but  one  son  he  inherits  his  land.  Whenever  a  vaca 
tion  [vacancy]  happens  in  any  regiment,  he  chooses  one  of  his 
subjects  to  fill  the  place,  and  this  subject  from  that  time  be 
comes  a  soldier  for  life ;  everybody  that  is  tall  enough  is 
subject  to  this  law.  In  peace  time  the  native  troops  are 
disbanded  nine  months  in  a  year,  and  in  all  that  time  their 
pay  ceases  and  they  must  get  their  living  as  they  can. 

There  is  nothing  very  remarkable  in  Dantzic,  Konigs- 
berg,  or  Riga ;  in  coming  to  this  last  we  pass'd  through 
Courland,  a  province  which  does,  strictly  speaking,  be 
long  to  Poland.  But  Russia  has  much  more  influence 
there  than  Poland  itself.  In  that  Province  all  the  Farmers 
are  in  the  most  abject  slavery;  they  are  bought  and  sold 
like  so  many  beasts,  and  arc  sometimes  even  chang'd  for 
dogs  or  horses.  Their  masters  have  even  the  right  of  life  and 
death  over  them,  and  if  they  kill  one  of  them  they  are  only 
obliged  to  pay  a  trifling  fine;  they  may  buy  themselves, 
but  their  masters  in  general  take  care  not  to  let  them  grow 
rich  enough  for  that;  if  anybody  buys  land  there  he  must 
buy  all  the  slaves  that  are  upon  it. 

Narva  is  the  last  place  which  we  stopped  at  before  our 
arrival  here.  It  is  a  small  insignificant  town,  but  will  be 
always  famous  for  the  battle  fought  there.  As  to  this  place, 
I  have  not  been  here  long  enough  to  know  much  about  it; 
but  by  what  we  have  seen  of  it  I  think  it  to  be  still  handsomer 


6  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1781 

than  Berlin.  The  streets  are  large  and  the  houses  very  well 
built,  but  it  is  not  yet  half  finish'd,  and  will  require  another 
century  to  be  rendered  compleat. 

Just  before  we  got  to  Berlin,  by  the  carelessness  of  a 
postilion,  our  carriage  overset  and  broke,  so  that  Mr.  Dana 
was  obliged  to  buy  another  there ;  but  luckily  no  body  was 
hurt  by  the  fall.1 

Nothing  else  extraordinary  befell  us  on  our  journey. 
I  am  your  dutiful  son. 

1  The  story  of  Dana's  mission  is  given  in  Wharton's  Diplomatic  Correspondence 
of  the  Revolution,  I.  574,  and  his  despatches  to  Congress  are  printed  in  the  same 
compilation.  The  French  ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  the  Marquis  de  Verac, 
could  not  speak  English,  nor  Dana  French,  and  young  Adams  proved  of  service. 
Five  years  later  Abigail  Adams  met  Verac  in  London,  and  wrote  to  her  son  that 
"  The  Marquis  de  Verac  inquired  after  you  with  great  politeness :  said  you  were 
interpreter  for  him  and  Mr.  Dana  when  you  were  at  St.  Petersburg."  Abigail 
Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  September  27,  1786.  Ms.  In  1787  the  usual  allow 
ance  for  a  private  secretary  was  given  to  Judge  Dana  and  paid  to  Adams.  Life 
and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  262.  Writing  on  February  5,  1782, 
John  Adams  said:  "It  is  a  mortification  to  me  to  find  that  you  write  better  in  a 
foreign  language  than  in  your  mother  tongue.  Your  letters  discover  a  judgment 
beyond  your  age,  but  your  style  is  not  yet  formed  in  French  or  English."  Ms. 

He  read  Voltaire  on  St.  Petersburg,  and  did  not  find  the  description  correct  in 
every  particular;  and  having  left  his  Littleton's  Latin-English  Dictionary  at  the 
Hague,  he  desires  it  be  sent  to  him,  as  "this  is  not  a  very  good  place  for  learning 
the  Latin  or  Greek  languages,  as  there  is  no  academy  or  school  here,  and  but  very 
few  private  teachers,  who  demand  at  the  rate  of  90  pounds  sterling  a  year  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  each  day.  Mr.  Dana  don't  chuse  to  employ  any  at  that  extrava 
gant  price  without  your  positive  orders,  but  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  go  on  alone.'* 
To  his  father,  October  12/23,  1781.  In  reply  to  an  expression  of  surprise  from  the 
father  he  wrote,  "There  is  nobody  here  but  Princes  and  Slaves,  the  Slaves  cannot 
have  their  children  instructed,  and  the  nobility  that  chuse  to  have  their's  send 
them  into  foreign  countries.  There  is  not  one  school  to  be  found  in  the  whole 
city."  Ibid.,  January  1/12,  1782.  Fortunately  there  was  an  English  library  to 
which  Mr.  Dana  subscribed.  Here  Adams  found  Hume  and  Mrs.  Macaulay,  and 
he  began  to  study  the  German  language.  As  nothing  could  be  accomplished  by 
the  mission,  he  wisely  decided  to  return  to  Holland,  and  in  October,  1782,  a  year 
before  Dana  left  St.  Petersburg,  he  set  out  on  his  long  journey.  Leaving  the 
Russian  capital  October  30,  he  did  not  reach  the  Hague  until  April  21,  1783.  His 


1783]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  7 

TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

HAGUE,  July  23d,  1783. 
HONOURED  MAMMA  : 

It  is  indeed  a  long  time  since  I  have  received  any  letters 
from  my  friends  in  America,  and  I  must  own  I  have  been  a 
little  behind  hand  within  these  two  years,  in  writing  to 
them.  However,  I  hope  they  will  consider  that  I  have 
been  all  that  time  almost  at  the  world's  end,  or  to  make  the 
best  of  it,  in  such  an  out  of  the  way  place,  as  made  it  very 
inconvenient  for  me  to  write.  But,  I  should  think  myself 
deficient  in  my  duty,  if  I  should  let  pass  the  present  oppor 
tunity,  without  giving  you  some  account  of  my  travels, 
since  I  left  Mr.  Dana. 

I  set  off  from  Petersburg  the   19/30  of  last  October,  in 

father  was  at  that  time  at  Paris,  and  Adams  began  to  study  Latin  and  Greek  under 
C.  W.  F.  Dumas,  a  man  of  letters,  the  editor  of  Vattel,  and  secret  agent  in  Holland 
of  the  United  States.  On  his  journey  he  had  made  some  inquiries  on  the  prospect 
of  commercial  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Sweden  and  Denmark. 
The  Swedes  "are  in  general  good  friends  to  America,  but  seem  to  be  a  little  afraid 
for  their  mines;  however  they  arc  very  well  disposed  for  carrying  on  commerce 
with  America,  and  there  is  a  merchant  here  named  Cedcrstrom,  who  has  a  brother 
lately  settled  in  Boston.  Mr.  Eberstcin  the  first  merchant  in  Xorrkoping  only 
waits  for  an  opportunity  to  send  some  ships.  Mr.  Brandenburg,  in  Stockholm, 
intends  to  send  a  Vessel  to  some  part  of  America  this  spring.  He  desired  me  to 
let  him  know  what  would  be  the  best  articles  he  could  send,  and  gave  me  a  list 
of  the  exports  of  Sweden,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  sent  to  Mr.  D[ana],  desiring  him 
to  answer  Mr.  Brandenburg  as  I  was  not  certain  myself  about  the  matter."  To 
his  father,  Gothenburg,  February  I,  1783.  "As  to  this  country  [Denmark]  I 
cannot  tell  what  sort  of  trade  we  shall  be  able  to  carry  on  with  it;  however,  there 
is  already  a  person  designed  to  be  as  the  minister  of  this  court  in  our  country,  and 
everybody  here  say  they  never  doubted  of  the  Independence  of  America;  but 
things  have  greatly  changed  here  within  these  three  months."  To  his  father, 
Copenhagen,  February  20,  1783.  Richard  Soderstrom  came  to  Boston,  and  was 
consul  of  Sweden;  but  difficulties  arose  in  connection  with  commercial  transac 
tions  of  his  brother  Carl  Soderstrom,  of  Gottenburg.  Diplomatic  Correspondence, 
1783-1789  (Sparks),  III.  796. 


8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1783 

company  with  Count  Greco,  an  Italian  gentleman,  with 
whom  I  was  acquainted,  at  that  place ;  and  on  account  of 
the  badness  of  the  roads  and  weather,  and  of  our  having  a 
great  number  of  considerable  water  passages,  which  had 
began  to  freeze  over,  did  not  arrive  in  Stockholm,  the  capi 
tal  of  Sweden,  until  the  25th  of  November.  The  distance 
is  about  800  English  miles.  I  staved  at  Stockholm  about 
six  weeks,  and  was  much  pleased  with  the  polite  manner  in 
which  the  people  of  the  country  treat  strangers.  Sweden 
is  the  country  in  Europe  which  pleases  me  the  most,  that 
is,  of  those  I  have  seen,  because  their  manners  resemble 
more  those  of  my  own  country  than  any  I  have  seen.  The 
King  is  a  man  of  great  ability.1  In  the  space  of  one  day 
from  being  the  most  dependent,  he  rendered  himself  one 
of  the  most  absolute  monarchs  of  Europe.  But  he  is  ex 
tremely  popular,  and  has  persuaded  his  people  that  they 
are  free,  and  that  he  has  only  restored  them  their  ancient 
constitution.  They  think  they  are  free,  and  are  therefore 
happy.  However,  in  the  interior  parts  of  the  Kingdom,  he 
has  lost  a  little  of  his  popularity,  because  he  has  laid  some 
heavy  taxes  upon  brandy  and  some  other  articles. 

I  left  Stockholm  the  3ist  of  December  and  was  obliged 
to  stop  at  a  small  town,  called  Norrkoping,  at  about  120 
miles  from  Stockholm,  for  a  fortnight,  because  of  a  very 
heavy  fall  of  snow,  which  happened  just  at  that  time.  I 
stopped  also  about  three  weeks  at  Gottenburg,  and  arrived 
at  Copenhagen,  the  capital  of  Denmark  (it  is  about  600 
miles  from  Stockholm),  the  I5th  of  February,  of  the  present 

1  Gustavus  III  reigned  1771-1791.  Determining  to  free  himself  from  the  su 
premacy  of  the  aristocracy  which  had  so  trammelled  his  predecessors,  he  gathered 
round  him  a  number  of  young  officers,  and  in  August,  1772,  defied  the  Diet  and 
won  his  end.  He  obtained  a  power  which  he  used  for  advancing  the  prosperity 
of  the  people,  but  the  extravagance  of  his  court  necessitated  burdensome  taxation. 
He  was  assassinated  by  an  agent  of  some  of  the  nobles. 


1783]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  9 

year.  I  found  there  Count  Greco,  who  had  taken  a  differ 
ent  road  from  Stockholm.  He  had  taken  a  place  in  a  vessel, 
which  was  to  sail  three  days  after  my  arrival,  for  Kiel,  a 
town  in  Germany,  near  Hamburg.  Not  to  lose  the  oppor 
tunity,  I  had  a  place  in  the  same  vessel,  but  after  having 
waited  three  weeks  for  a  good  wind,  the  harbor  froze  up, 
and  we  were  obliged,  after  all,  to  go  to  Hamburg  by  land. 
The  people  in  Denmark  treat  strangers  with  a  great  deal 
of  politeness  and  civility,  but  not  with  the  same  open- 
heartedness,  which  they  do  in  Sweden.  The  government 
is  entirely  monarchical.  But  it  astonishes  me  that  a  whole 
people  can  place  at  the  head  of  their  government  such  a 
man  as  the  King  of  Denmark,1  because  his  father  was  a 
king.  The  hereditary  prince,  it  seems,  is,  at  least,  possessed 
of  common  sense,  and  is  regarded  in  the  country  as  a  prodigy, 
as  he  indeed  is,  if  he  is  compared  to  his  father. 

I  arrived  at  Hamburg  (which  is  about  300  English  miles 
from  Copenhagen)  on  the  nth  of  March.  I  stayed  there 
near  a  month.  It  is  a  large  city,  quite  commercial,  and 
will,  I  dare  say,  carry  on  hereafter  a  great  deal  of  trade 
with  America.  But  its  commerce  is  somewhat  restrained, 
because  it  is  surrounded  by  the  dominions  of  the  King  of 
Denmark,  and  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover.2  The  Danes 
have  built  a  town,  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Ham 
burg,  which  is  become  now  its  rival  in  commerce.  The 
Hamburgers  have  named  this  place  Al-to-na,  which  signifies, 
much  too  near,  as,  indeed,  it  is  for  their  commercial  interests. 

The  last  city  where  I  made  my  stay,  before  I  arrived  at 
Amsterdam,  was  Bremen,  which  is  another  commercial  Re- 

1  Christian  VII,  son  of  Frederick  V.     Coming  to  the  throne  in  1766,  he  fell  into 
such  imbecility  as  to  be  incapable  of  ruling,  and  after  1784  the  government  was 
that  of  his  son,  the  Crown  Prince,  as  regent. 

2  George  William  Frederick,  George  III  of  Great  Britain. 


io  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1783 

public,  but  the  city  is  much  smaller  than  Hamburg.  It 
was  anciently  one  of  the  Hanseatic  league,  and  has  been  in 
a  much  more  flourishing  condition  than  it  is  at  present. 
There  are  at  Bremen  some  public  cellars,  which  are  famous. 
I  drank  there  some  Rhenish  wine,  about  160  years  old. 
I  stayed  only  four  days  at  Bremen  and  arrived  at  Amster 
dam  the  1 5th,  and  at  this  place  the  2ist  of  April,  and  here 
I  have  been  ever  since.  Hamburg  is  about  450  English 
miles  from  this  place. 

Last  night,  at  about  n  o'clock,  Pappa  arrived  here  from 
Paris,  all  alone,  only  accompanied  by  a  servant.  He  in 
tends  to  return  to  Paris  in  about  three  weeks.1  .  .  . 


TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

PARIS,  September  loth,  1783. 
HONOURED  MAMMA  : 

As  you  have  ordered  me  in  a  letter,  which  I  have  lately 
received,  to  give  you  my  observations  on  the  countries 
thro'  which  I  have  travelled,  the  following  are  some  upon 
Russia ;  but,  I  must  previously  beg  you  will  remember, 
that  you  say  in  your  letter  that  you  expect  neither  the 
precision  of  a  Robertson,  nor  the  elegance  of  a  Voltaire ; 
therefore,  you  must  take  them  as  they  are. 

The  government  of  Russia  is  entirely  despotical ;  the 
sovereign  is  absolute  in  all  the  extent  of  the  word.2  The 
persons,  the  estates,  the  fortunes  of  the  nobility  depend 
entirely  upon  his  caprice.  And  the  nobility  have  the  same 
power  over  the  people,  that  the  sovereign  has  over  them. 

1  The  son  accompanied  the  father  to  Paris,  where  he  served  as  an  additional 
secretary. 

2  At  this  time  Catherine  II,  who  had  gained  the  throne  by  deposing  her  weak 
husband,  Peter  III. 


1783]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  11 

The  nation  is  wholly  composed  of  nobles  and  serfs,  or,  in 
other  words,  of  masters  and  slaves.  The  countryman  is 
attached  to  the  land  in  which  he  is  born ;  if  the  land  is 
sold,  he  is  sold  with  it,  and  he  is  obliged  to  give  to  his  land 
lord  the  portion  of  his  time  which  he  chooses  to  demand. 
It  is  commonly  two  days  in  the  week,  I  think.  Others 
make  them  pay  a  sort  of  tax,  of  two  or  three  rubles  a  year. 
(N.B.  that  a  ruble  is  four  shillings  sterling,  or  thereabouts.) 
This  makes  a  large  revenue  for  the  landlords,  if  they  have 
a  great  number  of  serfs,  and  there  are  some  of  the  nobles 
who  have  an  amazing  quantity  of  them.  Out  of  each  five 
hundred  they  are  obliged  to  furnish  one  to  the  Empress 
every  year,  and  this  forms  her  army.  I  have  been  assured 
from  good  authority,  that  there  is  one  nobleman  who 
furnishes  1300  men  a  year  to  the  Empress.  According  to 
that  the  number  of  his  slaves  would  be  650,000.  Suppos 
ing  each  of  these  slaves  pay  him  a  ruble  a  year  his  revenue 
will  be  more  than  ioo,ooo£  Sterling  per  annum. 

This  form  of  government  is  disadvantageous  to  the 
sovereign,  to  the  nobles  and  to  the  people,  For  first,  it 
exposes  the  sovereign  every  moment  to  revolution,  of  which 
there  have  been  already  four  in  the  course  of  this  century; 
vizt.  when  Anne,  Dutchess  of  Courland,  was  set  upon  the 
throne,1  which  was  the  right  of  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Peter  the  first.  This  was  done  by  some  noblemen,  who 
wanted  to  limit  the  prerogatives  of  the  sovereign,  and  be 
more  powerful  themselves.  And  they  thought  they  would 
find  Anne  more  ready  to  agree  to  their  stipulations  than 
Elizabeth,  because  she  had  no  right  to  the  crown ;  but 
she  soon  overturned  all  their  schemes.  For  as  soon  as  she 
found  herself  well  seated  upon  the  throne,  she  rendered 

1  In  1730.  She  reigned  just  ten  years,  and  was  much  under  the  influence  of 
Germans,  and  especially  of  Biren,  a  Courlander. 


12  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1783 

herself  absolute,  by  reinstating  the  ancient  form  of  govern 
ment,  and  banished  all  those  who  had  made  these  restric 
tions.  This  was  the  second  revolution.  The  third  was 
when  Elizabeth  dethroned  Ivan^  an  infant  of  six  months 
old,  and  had  him  shut  up  in  a  tower,  where  he  lived  twenty 
years,  and  was  then  murdered  in  it.  And  the  4th,  when 
Peter  the  third  was  dethroned  by  the  present  Empress.2 
This,  I  think,  is  sufficient  proof  that  the  government  is 
disadvantageous  for  the  sovereign.  Secondly,  as  the  nobles 
all  depend  wholly  upon  the  sovereign,  they  are  always  in 
danger  of  their  estates  being  confiscated  and  themselves 
sent  into  Siberia.  It  is  commonly  the  fate  of  the  favorites. 
MenzicofT,  the  Dolgorouckis,  Biren,  Bestucheff,  Osterman, 
L'Estocq,  all  these  have  been  the  sport  of  fortune,  for  some 
time  the  favorites  of  the  Emperors,  and  then  sent  to  Siberia 
into  exile,  there  to  live  in  misery.  The  history  of  Menzicoff 
is  the  most  extraordinary,  and  he  did  not  deserve  the  fate. 
He  was  born  at  Moscow.  He  was  of  low  extraction,  and 
used  to  carry  about  the  streets,  while  a  child,  pies,  and  sing 
ballads.  Peter  the  first  saw  him  several  times,  and  asked 
him  several  questions.  His  answers  pleased  him  so  much 
that  he  took  him  to  the  Palace,  and,  by  degrees,  he  became 
the  favorite  of  the  Emperor,  who  gave  him  the  title  of 
Prince,  and  made  him  General  of  his  Army,  etc.  At  the 
battle  of  Pultowa,  he  saved  the  Empire,  because  a  manoeuvre 
of  his  was  the  means  of  the  battle's  being  decided  in  favor 
of  the  Emperor.  During  the  whole  reign  of  Peter  the  ist 
and  that  of  Catherine,  he  was  high  in  power,  but,  under 
that  of  Peter  the  2d,  he  was  stripped  of  all  his  dignities, 
his  fortune,  which  was  immense,  was  confiscated,  and  him- 

1  Ivan  VI.  The  uprising,  directed  against  the  German  adventurer  and  his 
following,  occurred  in  1741.  Elizabeth  Petrovna  (daughter  of  Peter  the  Great) 
reigned  until  her  death  in  December,  1761.  2  In  1762. 


1783]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  13 

self  sent  into  exile,  where  he  died  in  misery.  This  is  very 
nearly  the  history  of  all  the  others.  An  author,  who  has 
written  upon  Russia,  (Mannstein's  Memoirs  of  Russia) 
says  he  has  seen  lands  change  masters  three  or  four  times 
in  the  course  of  a  year.  This  is  certainly  not  advantageous 
for  the  nobility.  And,  thirdly,  as  to  the  people  nobody,  I 
believe,  will  assert  that  a  people  can  be  happy  who  are 
subjected  to  personal  slavery.  Some  of  these  serfs  are 
immensely  rich,  but  they  are  not  free,  and,  therefore,  they 
are  despised ;  besides  they  depend  still  upon  the  nobles, 
who  make  them  contribute  the  more  for  their  riches.  A 
nobleman  wants  money.  If  he  has  any  rich  serfs,  he  sends 
and  lets  one  of  them  know  that  he  must  have,  at  such  a 
time,  a  thousand  rubles  (more  or  less,  according  to  cir 
cumstances).  This  the  serf  has  a  right  to  refuse,  but  in 
that  case  his  landlord  orders  him  to  go  and  work  upon 
such  a  piece  of  ground,  so  he  is  obliged  either  to  give  the 
money,  or  to  go  and  work.  The  richer  they  are,  the  more 
the  nobles  prize  them.  Thus  a  common  man  costs  but  80 
or  loo  rubles,  at  most;  but  I  have  seen  a  man,  who  gave 
to  his  landlord,  for  his  liberty,  and  that  of  his  descendants, 
450,000  rubles.  This  proves  the  esteem  they  have  for 
liberty,  even  where  one  would  think  they  should  not  know 
that  such  a  thing  exists. 

As  I  am  a  little  pressed  for  time,  and  as  my  letter  has 
already  run  to  a  considerable  length,  I  must,  for  the  present 

subscribe  myself, 

Your  most  dutiful  son.1 

1  As  Mrs.  Adams  intended  to  join  her  husband  in  France,  the  son  was  sent  to 
London  to  meet  her.  He  sailed  from  Hellevoetsluys  by  the  packet  boat  on  May 
15,  and  reached  Harwich  two  days  later,  and  London  on  the  same  day.  On  the 
1 8th  he  wrote  to  his  father :  "  Mr.  Fox  has  at  length  carried  the  election  for  West 
minster  by  a  majority  of  235  votes,  and  all  the  city  was  illuminated  last  evening. 
But  Sir  Cecil  [Wray]  hopes  still  to  get  the  better  by  the  verification  of  the  votes. 


I4  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1784 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  June  6th,  1784. 


HONOURED  SIR  : 


In  the  course  of  the  debate  l  the  principal  persons  who 
spoke  were  on  one  side,  Mr.  Fox,  Lord  North,  Mr.  Sheri 
dan  and  Mr.  Lee;  on  the  other  Mr.  Pitt,  Lord  Mulgrave, 
Sir  L.  Kenyon,  Mr.  P.  Arden  and  Mr.  Wilberforce ;  and  if 
I  may  be  allowed  to  give  my  opinion,  Mr.  Pitt  is  upon  the 
whole  the  best  and  most  pleasing  speaker  of  them  all.  He 
has  much  grace  in  speaking  and  has  an  admirable  choice  of 
words.  He  speaks  very  fluently,  so  distinctly  that  I  did 
not  lose  a  word  of  what  he  said,  and  he  was  not  once  em 
barrassed  to  express  his  ideas.  Mr.  Fox  on  the  contrary 
speaks  with  such  an  amazing  heat  and  rapidity  that  he 
often  gets  embarrassed  and  sta'mmers  some  time  before  he 
can  express  himself.  His  ideas  are  all  striking,  but  they 
flow  upon  him  in  such  numbers  that  he  cannot  communi 
cate  them  without  difficulty.  I  should  think  he  would 
carry  all  before  him  if  he  spoke  to  persons  who  were  to  be 
convinced  by  anything  that  was  said.  Lord  North  is  very 
cool,  but  does  not  I  think  speak  like  either  of  the  two  before 
mentioned.  Mr.  Sheridan  speaks  extremely  fast,  and  has 
a  wonderful  facility  of  expression,  but  is  not  so  distinct  as 
Mr.  Pitt.  There,  Sir,  in  obedience  to  your  command  have 
I  given  you  my  opinion  of  the  eloquence  of  several  great 

Parliament  met  this  day  for  the  first  time."  At  the  end  of  the  month  the  expected 
vessel  arrived,  but  brought  only  letters.  "The  Cincinnati  seem  to  be  very  much 
disliked  the  other  side  the  Atlantic,  several  States  have  shown  their  disapproba 
tion  of  them  and  it  is  supposed  the  order  will  be  entirely  annihilated.  The  House 
of  Representatives  of  our  State  have  taken  some  resolutions  upon  the  subject, 
which  I  think  quite  noble."  To  his  father,  June  I,  1784. 
1  On  the  Westminster  election. 


i784]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  15 

orators.  If  it  is  erroneous,  my  judgment  is  in  fault,  for  I 
have  followed  in  this  matter  the  ideas  of  no  one.  The 
other  day  I  met  with  Governor  Pownall,  who  desired  me 
to  present  his  compliments  to  you.  He  wishes  to  know 
something  about  the  business  of  the  donation,  but  I  told 
him  I  believed  you  had  heard  nothing  of  it.  He  is  going 
to  spend  some  time  in  the  South  of  France.  .  .  .l 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  June  i8th,  1784. 
HONORED  SIR  : 

I  was  in  the  House  of  Commons  the  day  before  yesterday 
again,  and  heard  the  debates  upon  the  subject  of  parlia 
mentary  reform.  I  was  witness  to  something  very  extraor 
dinary.  I  mean  that  Mr.  Fox  spoke  with  Mr.  Pitt  in 
support  of  the  motion,  and  Mr.  Dundas,  with  Lord  North 
against  it.  I  have  never  been  so  much  pleased  with  the 
debates  as  that  day.  Alderman  Sawbridge  moved  for  a 
committee  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  parliamentary  rep 
resentation,  and  after  several  of  the  secondary  speakers  had 
delivered  briefly  their  opinions,  Lord  North  made  a  masterly 
speech  against  the  motion,  and  was  about  two  hours  and 
an  half  delivering  it.  But  Mr.  Pitt,  in  a  speech  of  a  little 
more  than  an  hour's  length,  took  Lord  N[orth]'s  arguments 
all  to  pieces  and  turned  them  all  against  them.  He  spoke 
in  a  most  striking  and  pathetic  manner  of  the  unfortunate 
situation  in  which  this  country  now  is,  and  endeavored  to 

1  "There  is  a  young  American  here  named  Murray,  from  Maryland;  he  is  study 
ing  law  in  the  Temple,  and  intends  making  a  tour  through  Holland  this  summer, 
perhaps  he  will  go  over  at  the  same  time  I  do."  To  his  father,  June  15,  1784. 
William  Vans  Murray  succeeded  Adams  March  2,  1797,  as  minister  to  the  Nether 
lands. 


16  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1784 

show  that  it  was  for  the  most  part  owing  to  the  defects  of 
the  representation  in  Parliament.  This  speech  confirmed 
me  in  my  opinion  that  he  is  the  best  speaker  in  the  house, 
and  I  really  think  that 

Take  him  for  all  in  all 

I  shall  not  look  upon  his  like  again. 

Mr.  Dundas  spoke  for  about  half  an  hour  against  parlia 
mentary  reform,  at  least  for  the  present  time.  Mr.  Fox 
then  spoke  near  an  hour  and  a  half  extremely  well  for  the 
motion.  He  made  use  of  a  great  number  of  very  artful 
and  specious  arguments  against  Mr.  Pitt,  and  seemed  as  if 
he  found  some  consolation  for  his  misfortunes  in  [tea]sing 
the  minister,  tho'  he  spoke  on  the  same  side  of  the  question. 
But  tho'  I  don't  pretend  to  say  Mr.  Pitt  surpasses  him  in 
argumentation,  yet  I  think  nobody  will  deny  that  he  does 
in  the  delivery.  Mr.  Fox  has  a  small  impediment  in  his 
speech,  and  one  would  think  his  nose  was  stopped  by  a 
cold  when  he  speaks,  whereas  Mr.  P[itt]  has  the  clearest 
voice  and  most  distinct  pronunciation  of  any  person  I  ever 
remember  to  have  heard.  But  they  are  both  very  great 
men,  and  it  is  a  real  misfortune  for  this  country  that  those 
talents  which  were  made  to  promote  the  honor  and  the 
power  of  the  nation  should  be  prostituted  to  views  of 
interest  and  of  ambition.  Your  dutiful  son.1 

1  In  July  his  mother  and  sister  arrived  in  London,  and  he  there  joined  them. 
The  return  to  Paris  and  the  life  there  are  told  in  the  Journal  and  Correspondence 
of  Miss  [Abigail]  Adams,  published  in  1841  by  her  daughter  Caroline  Adams  de 
Windt. 

May  4,  1785,  John  Adams,  then  at  Auteuil,  received  a  commission,  instructions, 
and  letter  of  credence  to  the  court  of  Great  Britain.  The  son  determined  to  re 
turn  to  the  United  States  and  complete  his  education  there.  He  embarked  at 
L'Orient  in  [the  French  packet  Captain  Le  Fournier,  May  21,  1785,  and  on  Sun 
day,  July  17,  the  packet  cast  anchor  in  New  York  harbor.  Adams  wrote  to  his 
sister  that  he  "was  obliged  to  remain  on  deck  all  night  in  order  to  translate  the 


i78S]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  17 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

NEW  YORK,  August  3d,  1785. 
DEAR  SIR: 

Mr.  Church  proposes  to  embark  on  board  the  British 
packet,  which  is  to  sail  to-morrow.  He  has  offered  to  take 
my  letters,  and  I  suppose  he  will  be  the  bearer  of  dispatches 
from  Congress.  Our  passage,  though  it  was  not  a  stormy 
one,  was  very  tedious.1  Of  eight  weeks  that  we  were  at 
sea,  we  had  at  least  four  of  such  calm  weather  as  not  to 
proceed  more  than  eight  or  ten  leagues  a  day.  As  we 
were  coming  up  the  river,  we  met  the  other  packet,  which 
was  sailing  for  France.  I  had  only  time  to  write  a  line 
and  inform  you  of  my  arrival.  I  hope  she  has  by  this 
time  performed  a  large  part  of  her  voyage,  and  that  three 
weeks  hence  you  will  receive  my  letter.  I  shall  remain 
here  some  days  longer  than  I  expected  when  I  left  you. 
As  it  was  too  late  when  I  arrived  here  for  me  to  be  at  Bos 
ton  before  Commencement,  I  thought  there  was  less  neces 
sity  of  my  being  in  haste  to  go.  The  President 2  has  been 
polite  to  me,  even  beyond  what  I  could  have  expected  ;  he 
has  given  me  an  apartment  in  his  house,  where  I  have 
been  these  ten  days.  Mr.  Jay  was  so  kind  before  I  came 
here  to  make  me  the  same  offer. 

The  politicians  here  wait  with  great  impatience  to  hear 
from  you.  Matters  seem  to  be  at  a  crisis.  The  British 

pilot's  orders.  Form  to  yourself  an  idea  how  I  was  puzzled  to  translate  English 
sea  terms  that  I  did  not  understand  into  French  sea  terms  which  I  knew  no  better." 
On  the  French  packet  met  in  the  harbor  at  midnight,  about  to  return  to  Europe, 
was  Mrs.  Catharine  Macaulay.  "I  fancy  she  leaves  the  country  with  a  less  ex 
alted  idea  of  our  virtues,  than  she  had  when  she  came  to  it." 

1  He  left  Autcuil  May  12. 

2  Richard  Henry  Lee,  who  was  elected  president  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
November  30,  1784,  and  served  until  Congress  ended  its  session,  November  4,  1785. 

c 


i8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1785 

instead  of  delivering  up  the  posts,  have  lately  sent  there  a 
reinforcement  of  troops.  I  have  heard  from  merchants  here, 
that  the  fur  trade  from  which  we  are  thus  precluded  by  an 
open  breach  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  is  worth  annually 
50,000  pounds  sterling.  This  may  be  overrated,  but  the 
reluctance  the  British  show  to  leave  the  posts  is  sufficient 
proof  that  it  is  an  important  object.  It  is  supposed  that 
your  next  letters  will  give  information  on  the  subject,  and 
let  us  know  what  is  to  be  depended  upon. 

The  duties  laid  on  imported  goods  by  many  of  the  States, 
and  the  prohibition  of  all  English  vessels  in  Massachu 
setts,  are  another  subject  of  much  conversation.  Mer 
chants,  who  often  adopt  the  proverb,  that  charity  begins 
at  home,  endeavor  to  demonstrate  that  the  country  will 
suffer  very  much  by  these  regulations.  They  say  that  all 
foreign  nations  will  be  discouraged  from  bringing  us  any 
goods  while  they  are  encumbered  with  such  heavy  imposts, 
and  if  we  go  for  them  ourselves,  they  will  sell  them  only 
for  money,  which  we  have  not.  Many  of  them  are  still 
very  much  afraid  of  Great  Britain.  They  dread  a  war, 
and  in  case  she  be  not  able  to  carry  one  on,  they  tremble 
lest  she  should  shut  her  ports  upon  us  and  stop  our  trade 
with  her  West  India  Islands.  They  own  that  those  Islands 
cannot  subsist  without  us,  but  they  think  we  could  not 
hold  out  if  we  had  no  market  to  carry  our  productions  to, 
so  long  as  they  could  without  them.  You  will  easily  see 
that  this  is  the  reasoning  of  a  merchant  who  fears  present 
losses,  and  does  not  consider  future  advantages.  Fortu 
nately  the  spirit  of  the  people  is  different,  and  I  doubt  not, 
in  case  Great  Britain  should  persist  in  her  present  conduct, 
sufficient  firmness  will  be  shown  on  this  side  the  water. 
The  State  of  Massachusetts  have  already  prohibited  all 
British  vessels  to  come  in  their  ports.  A  frigate  appeared 


i735]  JOHN   QUIXCY   ADAMS  19 

since  the  act  was  passed,  but  was  not  suffered  to  enter. 
The  States  have  not  given  to  Congress  the  power  of  regu 
lating  their  trade,  but  it  is  almost  universally  considered 
here  a  necessary  measure.  The  President  of  Congress  is 
however  much  against  it.  He  has  written  you  by  this 
opportunity,  and  perhaps  he  has  given  you  his  opinion  upon 
the  subject. 

You  doubtless  know  before  this,  that  Mr.  Bowdoin  was 
elected  governor  of  Massachusetts  at  the  last  election,  in 
the  place  of  Mr.  Hancock,  who  was  chosen  Member  of 
Congress  for  the  next  session.  The  parties  showed  some 
rancor  and  acrimony  at  the  time,  but  since  the  election 
everything  has  subsided,  and  the  present  Governor  is  very 
popular.  It  is  generally  supposed  here  that  Mr.  Hancock 
will  next  year  be  seated  in  the  chair  of  Congress.  I  don't 
know  however  whether  he  has  accepted  the  appointment.1 

Mr.  Osgood,  Mr.  Walter  Livingston,  and  Mr.  Arthur  Lee 
are  the  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury.  Mr.  Lee  was 
chosen  a  few  days  since,  and  has  accepted.2  The  board 
could  not  be  composed  of  persons  more  universally  respected. 

Mr.   de  Marbois,3  it  is   said,   will   in   a   short   time  leave 

1  "Mr.  Hancock,  being  too  infirm  to  act  as  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  is 
chosen  as  member  of  Congress  for  the  next  year,  and  will  probably  take  his  rest 
in  the  President's  seat  next  November.  This  is  escaping  Scylla  to  fall  into  Charyb- 
dis."  To  his  sister,  July  17,  1785.  Hancock  was  chosen  President  of  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,  November  23,  1785.  'July  27,  1785. 

3  Barbe  Marbois  (1745-1837)  had  served  in  the  French  diplomatic  service  in 
Germany  before  he  received,  in  1779,  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  the  Trench 
legation  in  the  United  States.  He  married  in  this  country,  and  in  1785  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  governorship  of  Santo  Domingo,  whence  he  returned  to  France  in 
1790.  Banished  to  Guiana  during  the  French  Revolution,  he  was  recalled  in  iSoi, 
and  as  Minister  of  finance  negotiated  the  sale  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States. 
Marbois  had  made  his  first  voyage  to  the  United  States  in  the  same  frigate  with 
John  Adams  and  his  son,  and  four  years  later  an  intercepted  despatch  from  Mar 
bois  to  Vcrgcnnes  had  an  important  influence  in  the  peace  negotiations,  because 
of  its  disclosure  of  the  attitude  of  France  towards  the  United  States.  Works  of 


20  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1785 

America,  and  Mr.  Otto,  formerly  a  secretary  to  the  Cheva 
lier  de  la  Luzerne,  is  to  succeed  him.  I  believe  he  will 
not  regret  this  country,  nor  do  I  think  he  will  be  much 
regretted  himself.  The  Chevalier  is  supposed  to  be  much 
more  friendly  to  the  country,  and  is  much  more  respected 
here.  Many  persons  wonder  why  a  Minister  is  not  sent 
from  the  Court  of  France. 

After  reading  this  letter,  you  will  perhaps  think  I  had 
better  be  at  my  studies  and  give  you  an  account  of  their 
progress  than  say  so  much  upon  politics.  But  while  I  am 
in  this  place  I  hear  nothing  but  politics.  When  I  get  home 
I  shall  trouble  my  head  very  little  about  them.  I  propose 
leaving  this  next  Monday  the  8th  inst.,  and  shall  certainly 
be  in  Boston  by  the  2Oth.  I  am  your  dutiful  Son.1 

John  Adams,  I.  669.  His  wife  the  younger  Adams  described  as  "a  pretty  little 
woman.  She  was  a  Quaker,  but  appears  not  to  have  retained  any  of  the  rigid 
tenets  of  that  sect." 

1  Intending  to  enter  Harvard  in  the  Junior  Sophister  class,  he  learned  that  an 
acquaintance  with  certain  authors  whose  writings  he  had  not  studied  was  essential, 
although  he  was  otherwise  as  well  prepared  for  admission  as  others  of  that  class. 
His  father  describes  the  qualifications  gained  in  European  studies,  in  a  letter  to 
Benjamin  Waterhouse,  April  24,  1785,  printed  in  Works  of  John  Adams,  IX.  530. 
The  rules  of  the  college  could  not  be  set  aside,  and  at  the  end  of  September,  1785, 
he  went  to  Haverhill.  "The  class  had  then  gone  through  four  books  of  Homer's 
Iliad,  two  of  Xenophon's  Cyropaedia,  the  Greek  Testament;  in  Latin  they  had 
gone  through  the  Odes  and  Satires  of  Horace  and  were  in  the  Epistles ;  in  English 
they  had  finished  the  study  of  Geography  and  that  of  Logic,  and  had  entered 
upon  Locke  on  the  Understanding.  It  so  happened  that  when  I  was  examined, 
the  only  book  which  I  was  tried  in  that  I  had  studied  before  I  came  to  America 
was  Horace.  Immediately  upon  going  to  Mr.  Shaw's  I  began  upon  the  Greek 
Grammar,  which  I  learnt  through  by  heart.  I  then  undertook  the  Greek  Testa 
ment,  in  which  I  went  before  I  came  here  as  far  as  the  Epistle  to  Titus.  In  this 
I  was  not  so  far  as  the  class.  I  also  finished  Horace  and  the  Andria  of  Terence. 
In  Logic  I  was  equal  with  the  class,  and  in  Locke  about  70  pages  behind  them, 
Guthrie's  Geography  I  had  also  finished.  On  the  I3th  of  last  month  I  was  ex 
amined  before  the  President,  three  professors  and  four  tutors :  three  stanzas  in 
the  Carmen  Seculare  of  Horace,  six  lines  in  the  fourth  book  of  the  Iliad,  a  number 


i786]  JOHN   QUINCY   ADAMS  21 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

CAMBRIDGE,  May  2ist,   1786,  Sunday. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  am  now  much  more  at  my  disposal,  with  respect  to  my 
time,  than  I  was  at  Haverhill,  and  can  devote  more  of  it 
to  writing;  though,  it  is  said,  this  quarter,  that  is,  the  last 

of  questions  in  Logic  and  in  Locke  and  several  in  Geography  were  given  to  me." 
He  was  also  asked  to  turn  two  English  sentences  into  Latin,  and  was  soon  after 
told  by  the  President  that  he  was  admitted  and  might  live  in  the  college  —  the 
latter  an  unexpected  advantage.  His  roommate  was  Henry  Ware,  who  had 
graduated  the  previous  year  and  was  described  as  "one  of  the  best  moral  and  literary 
characters  in  his  class." 

Adams  remarked  upon  two  matters  in  the  college  which  could  be  altered  for 
the  better.  "There  is  not  sufficient  communication  between  the  classes.  They 
appear  to  form  four  distinct  orders  of  beings,  and  seldom  associate  together.  .  .  . 
Another  is,  that  the  tutors  are  so  very  young.  They  are  often  chosen  among 
bachelors  that  have  not  been  out  of  college  more  than  two  years,  so  that  their 
acquirements  are  not  such  as  an  instructor  at  this  university  ought  to  be  possessed 
of.  Another  disadvantage  of  their  being  chosen  so  young  is  that  they  were  the 
fellow  scholars  of  those  they  are  placed  over,  and  consequently  do  not  command  so 
much  respect  as  they  seem  to  demand.  However,  take  it  all  in  all,  I  am  strongly 
confirmed  in  your  opinion,  that  this  university  is  upon  a  much  better  plan  than 
any  I  have  seen  in  Europe."  To  his  father,  April  2,  1786.  Ms. 

"I  was  obliged  in  the  course  of  six  months  to  go  through  the  studies  which  are 
performed  here  in  two  years  and  nine  months.  So  different  had  my  studies  been 
from  those  at  this  place,  that  I  had  not  before  last  October  looked  into  a  book  that 
I  was  examined  in,  except  Horace.  Had  I  arrived  here  three  months  earlier,  it 
would  have  been  easier  to  enter  into  the  class  which  graduates  next  Commence 
ment,  than  it  has  been  to  enter  the  one  I  am  in.  This  would  have  advanced  me 
one  year,  but  there  are  a  number  of  public  exercises  here  that  I  should  not  have 
performed  and  which  I  think  may  be  advantageous ;  such  is  speaking  in  the  Chapel, 
before  all  the  classes,  which  I  shall  have  to  do  in1  my  turn  four  or  five  times  before 
we  leave  college.  Such  also  are  the  forensic  disputations,  one  of  which  we  are 
to  have  to-morrow.  A  question  is  given  out  by  the  tutor  in  metaphysics,  for  the 
whole  class  to  dispute  upon.  They  alternately  affirm  or  deny  the  question,  and 
write,  each,  two  or  three  pages  for  or  against,  which  is  read  in  the  Chapel  before  the 
tutor,  who  finally  gives  his  opinion  concerning  the  question.  We  have  two  or 
three  questions  every  quarter.  That  for  to-morrow  is,  whether  the  immortality 
of  the  human  soul  is  probable  from  natural  reason  ?  It  comes  in  course  for  me  to 


22  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1786 

of  the  Junior  Sophister  year,  is  more  important  and  busy 
than  any  other  in  the  four  years.  Mr.  Williams'  1  lectures 
on  natural  philosophy  render  it  so.  His  course  consists  of 
twenty-four  lectures,  thirteen  of  which  we  have  already 
had.  I  have  hitherto  taken  minutes  while  he  was  speaking, 
and  written  off  after  I  came  out  as  much  as  I  could  recol 
lect  of  them.  Some  of  my  class  have  told  me  they  were 
not  worth  the  time  and  pains  I  have  spent  upon  them ; 
but  I  think  they  are,  as  they  may  serve  to  fix  firmer  in  my 
mind  the  principles  of  an  important  branch  of  science, 
which  I  never  before  have  studied.  In  my  last  letter  to 
you  I  requested  Desagulier's  translation  of  's  Gravesande's 
in  two  volumes  octavo.2  There  is  4to  edition,  but  the  other 
is  that  which  is  studied  here.  They  are  very  scarce  in  this 
country,  as  they  can  neither  be  bought,  nor  borrowed  out 
of  college.  We  begin  to  recite  in  them  tomorrow,  but  I 
shall  endeavor  to  borrow  them  of  some  classmate  for  the 
two  weeks  we  shall  recite  in  them  this  quarter,  and  I  hope 
to  receive  one  before  I  shall  have  occasion  for  it  again. 
This  is  the  last  quarter  in  which  we  recite  in  the  languages. 
The  next  year  we  shall  be  confined  to  mathematics,  natural 
philosophy  and  metaphysics.  We  shall  finish  Locke  on 
the  Understanding  before  the  end  of  this  year,  and  begin 
on  Reid  on  the  Mind.  Our  progress  here  is  very  slow,  but 
we  have  so  many  things  to  attend  to  at  once,  that  it  can 
not  well  be  otherwise. 

affirm;  and  in  this  case  it  makes  the  task  much  easier.  It  so  happens  that  what 
ever  the  question  may  be,  I  must  support  it."  To  his  mother,  May  15,  1786.  Ms. 
Adams'  Diary  while  at  Harvard  College  is  summarized  in  Henry  Adams,  Historical 
Essays,  80. 

1  Samuel  Williams  (1743-1817),  Hollis  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural 
philosophy  in  Harvard  College,  1780-1788. 

2  William  Jacob  's  Gravesande's  Mathematical  Elements  of  Natural  Philosophy, 
translated  by  John  Theophilus  Desaguliers,  London. 


i786]  JOHN  QUINCY   ADAMS  23 

I  received  a  few  days  since  your  favor  of  March  I9th, 
and  at  the  same  time,  from  my  sister,  Colonel  Humphreys' 
poem,1  which  I  think  superior  to  the  former.  Among  its 
beauties  is  a  very  happy  imitation  of  a  famous  passage  in 
Virgil,  J£n.  6.  847,  etc.  It  is  in  the  3<Dth  page  : 2 

Let  other  climes  of  other  produce  boast,  etc. 

I  think  it  is,  as  Boileau  says  of  himself,  "meme,  en  imitant, 
toujours  original."  America  appears  to  hasten  towards 
perfection  in  the  fine  arts,  and  any  country  would  boast  of 
a  Belknap  as  an  historian,  a  Dwight  as  a  poet,  and  a  West 
as  a  painter.  There  are  in  this  University,  one  or  two 
students,  (now  Senior  Sophisters,)  who  promise  fair  to 
become  very  good  poets.  One  of  them,  by  the  name  of 
Fowle,3  was  appointed  a  few  days  since  to  deliver  a  vale 
dictory  poem  on  the  2ist  of  June,  and  it  is  said,  has  an 
other  assigned  him  as  a  part  at  Commencement.  There  is 
among  the  governors  of  the  college  one,  who  for  genius  and 
learning,  would  make  a  figure  in  any  part  of  Europe.  I 
mean  the  Librarian,  Mr.  Winthrop.4  He  has  lately  dis 
covered  a  method  of  trajecting  an  angle,  which  has  so  long 
been  attempted  in  vain.  Mr.  Sewall  :>  too,  the  former 
Hebrew  Professor,  is  now  producing  his  talents.  He  was 
obliged  to  resign,  because  it  was  said  he  was  addicted  to 
drinking.  He  most  sacredly  declared,  at  the  time,  that 
the  accusation  was  false.  It  has  been  said  as  an  argument 
to  prove  he  was  subject  to  the  vice  that  his  mental  facul 
ties  were  impaired.  To  show  that  this  was  not  the  fact,  he 

1  .7  Poem  on  the  Happiness  of  America. 

*  Line  569  et  seq,  s  Robert  Fowle  (1766-1847). 

4  James  Winthrop  (1752-1821),  who  served  as  librarian  of  the  College  1772- 
1787,  and  also  had  repute  as  a  jurist. 

6  Stephen  Sewall  (1734-1804).  In  1764  he  became  the  first  Hancock  professor 
of  Hebrew  in  Harvard,  and  held  that  position  until  1785. 


24  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1786 

has  undertaken  to  translate  Young's  Night  Thoughts  into 
Latin  verse.  The  first  night  is  to  be  published  soon.  The 
work  may  be  considered  as  a  curiosity,  and  I  shall  send  one 
as  soon  as  they  are  printed.1 

June  I4th.  I  have  been  so  busy,  since  the  date  of  the 
former  part  of  this  letter,  that  I  have  not  been  able  to 
finish  it.  I  have  taken]  in  writing  extracts  of  all  I  remem 
ber  of  the  lectures  upon  natural  philosophy.  The  course 
finished  last  Saturday,  and  I  have  now  the  disposal  of  my 
time,  much  more  than  I  had  before.  The  performances  at 
Commencement  are  distributed,  and  are  more  numerous 
than  they  ever  have  been  before.  It  is  a  doubt  at  present 
whether  this  is  only  a  mark  of  favor  to  the  class  that  is 
about  to  graduate,  because  it  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best 
classes  taken  collectively,  for  genius,  and  learning,  that  has 
ever  gone  through  College ;  or  whether  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  government  for  the  future  to  increase  the  number 
of  good  parts,  as  they  are  called.  Hitherto  about  two 
thirds  of  each  class  have  had  syllogistic  disputes  to  perform 
at  Commencement,  and  as  they  are  never  attended  to,  they 
are  held  in  detestation  by  the  scholars,  and  everyone  thinks 
it  a  reflection  upon  his  character  as  a  genius  and  a  student 
to  have  a  syllogistic ;  this  opinion  is  the  firmer,  because 
the  best  scholars  almost  always  have  other  parts.  There 
are  many  disadvantages  derived  from  these  syllogisms,  and 
I  know  only  of  one  benefit,  which  is  this.  Many  scholars 
would  go  through  college  without  studying  at  all,  but  would 
idle  away  all  their  time,  who  merely  from  the  horrors  of 
syllogisms  begin  to  study,  acquire  a  fondness  for  it,  and 
make  a  very  pretty  figure  in  college ;  and  it  is  not  uncom- 

1  Node  cogita,  Auctore,  anglice  scripta.  Printed  in  Charlestown  [Caroloppidi], 
1786.  Sewall's  Mss.  in  Harvard  University  bear  witness  to  his  learning  and  in 
dustry. 


i786]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  25 

mon  to  see  young  fellows,  the  most  idle  in  a  class  the  two 
first  years,  have  the  reputation  of  great  students,  and  good 
scholars  the  two  latter. 

The  next  Commencement  there  will  be  delivered  two 
English  poems,  two  English  orations,  two  Latin  orations,  a 
Greek  dialogue,  three  forensic  disputes,  and  an  English 
dialogue  between  four.  Thompson,  a  young  gentleman 
from  Newbury,  has  one  of  the  English  orations.  He  is 
generally  supposed  to  be  the  most  distinguished  character  in 
College.  It  is  said  by  his  classmates  that  he  will  outshine 
Harry  Otis,  who  will  deliver  at  the  same  time  an  oration 
upon  taking  his  second  degree;  but  it  is  now  a  doubt 
whether  Thompson  will  appear,  as  he  is  very  unwell.  He 
has  injured  his  health  by  hard  study,  and  it  is  feared  he  has 
a  slow  fever.1 

The  bridge  at  Charlestown  is  very  nearly  completed. 
Next  Saturday  being  the  iyth  of  June,  there  is  to  be  a  long 
procession  over  the  bridge,  and  an  entertainment  for  six 
hundred  persons  provided  on  Bunkers  Hill.2  I  know  of  no 
news,  as  I  am  here  quite  retired.  It  is  now  eight  weeks 
since  this  quarter  began.  Near  as  we  are  to  Boston,  I 
have  been  there  only  once  in  that  time.  A  person  who 
wishes  to  make  any  figure  as  a  scholar  at  this  University, 
must  not  spend  much  time  either  in  visiting  or  in  being  visited. 

I  have  one  more  request  to  add  to  those  I  have  already 
made.  It  is  for  Blair's  Lectures  3  in  octavo,  so  that  they 
may  be  in  the  same  form  with  the  sermons,  and  because  an 
octavo  is  much  more  convenient  than  a  quarto.  Your 
dutiful  son. 

1  The  prophecy  was  in  part  fulfilled,  for  Thomas  W.  Thompson  (1766-1821) 
represented  New  Hampshire  in  both  branches  of  the  national  legislature. 

2  See  Massachusetts  Centinel,  June  21,  1786. 

1  Lectures  on  Rhetoric,  first  published  in  1783. 


26  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1786 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

CAMBRIDGE,  August  3Oth,  1786. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  received  a  few  days  agone  your  favor  of  June  2nd. 
You  mention  an  affair,  concerning  which  I  had  determined 
to  write  in  the  beginning  of  this  quarter.  I  have  thought 
much  of  an  office  in  which  to  study  the  law.  Should  you 
return  home  next  spring  and  be  yourself  at  leisure  to  instruct 
me,  I  should  certainly  prefer  that  to  studying  anywhere 
else.  But  if  you  are  still  detained  in  Europe,  I  should 
wish  to  live  in  some  place  where  there  might  be  society 
sufficient  for  relaxation  at  times,  but  not  enough  to  en 
courage  dissipation.  Boston  I  should  for  several  reasons 
wish  to  avoid.  The  principal  ones  are  that  it  is  unfavor 
able  to  study,  and  that  it  would  be  almost  doubly  expensive. 
Mr.  Parsons1  of  Newbury,  has  been  mentioned,  and  I  should 
be  very  glad  to  study  with  him.  However  it  is  not  per 
haps  a  matter  of  much  consequence  whose  office  I  am  in, 
if  my  time  is  well  spent  in  it.  I  look  forward  with  mingled 
pain  and  pleasure  to  the  time  when  I  shall  finish  the  col 
legiate  term.  I  have  made  it  my  endeavor  to  be  intimate 
only  with  the  best  characters  in  my  class,  and  there  are 
several  with  whom  I  enjoy  many  social  half  hours.  As 
our  pursuits  are  confined  here  merely  to  literature,  it  is 
necessary  to  be  a  very  close  student  in  order  to  acquire  a 
respectable  character.  Out  of  an  hundred  and  forty  stu 
dents  that  are  here,  there  is  undoubtedly  every  grade,  from 
the  most  amiable  disposition  to  the  worst,  from  the  smallest 
genius  to  the  greatest,  and  from  the  complete  ignoramus  to 
the  youth  of  learning.  There  are  some  who  do  not  study 

1  Theophilus  Parsons  (1750-1813).  See  Memoir  of  Theophilus  Parsons,  by  his 
son,  Boston,  1861. 


i786]  JOHN   QUINCY   ADAMS  27 

twelve  hours  in  the  course  of  a  twelvemonth,  and  some  who 
study  as  much  almost  every  day,  and  it  always  happens 
that  their  reputation  is  in  an  exact  ratio  to  the  attention 
they  pay  to  studying.  The  good  scholar  is  esteemed,  even 
by  the  idle ;  but  the  bad  one  is  despised  as  much  by  those 
who  are  like  him,  as  he  is  by  the  judicious.  This  is  the 
common  course,  but  in  these  peaceful  mansions  there  is 
the  same  spirit  of  intrigue  and  party,  and  as  much  inclina 
tion  to  cabal,  as  may  be  discovered  at  courts.  It  has  not 
the  same  opportunities  to  show  itself,  and  remains  for  the 
most  part  concealed  ;  but  there  arc  certain  circumstances 
and  situations  in  which  it  breaks  forth  with  great  vehemence. 
This  has  lately  been  the  case  with  my  class.  It  is  cus 
tomary  early  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  senior  year  for  each 
class  to  meet  and  choose  by  ballot  one  of  its  members  to 
deliver  a  valedictory  oration  on  the  ensuing  2ist  of  June, 
and  four  others  to  collect  the  theses,  which  arc  published 
by  the  class  when  they  take  their  degrees.  [We]  have 
lately  gone  through  this  business.  There  were  different 
parties  for  three  persons  as  orator,  and  there  was  a  great 
deal  of  intriguing  carried  on.  One  only  could  be  successful, 
and  Little,1  of  Newburyport,  was  finally  chosen,  a  person, 
who  to  an  excellent  genius,  unites  an  amiable  disposition, 
and  an  unblemished  moral  character.  The  class  did  me 
the  honor  to  choose  me  among  the  theses  collectors,  and  for 
the  mathematical  part.2  Little  did  I  think, -when  you  gave 
me  those  lessons  at  Auteuil,  which  you  call  our  suppers, 
that  they  would  be  productive  of  this  effect.3  It  is  a  la- 

1  Moses  Little  (1766-1811). 

2  "I  am  the  more  pleased  to  learn  that  you  are  to  collect  the  mathematical 
theses,  as  the  same  part  fell  to  my  share  in  the  year  1755."     John  Adams  to  John 
Quincy  Adams,  January  10,  1787-     Ms. 

*  The  father  speaks  in  a  letter  of  April  2,  1786,  of  "our  Greek  breakfasts  at  the 
Hague,  and  our  Euclid  suppers  at  Auteuil."     Ms. 


28  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1786 

borious  task,  and  will  confine  my  studies  for  the  ensuing 
year  much  more  to  the  mathematics  than  I  should  have 
done  if  I  had  been  left  to  my  own  disposal.  .  .  . 


TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

CAMBRIDGE,  December  30,  1786. 

As  for  public  affairs  I  have  a  great  aversion  even  to 
thinking  of  them ;  and  near  as  we  are  to  Boston,  I  should 
know  nothing  concerning  them,  if  riots,  insurrections,  and 
anarchy  were  not  at  this  time  the  only  topics  of  conversa 
tion.  The  people  in  four  or  five  counties  of  this  State  are 
distracted,  and  several  hundreds  of  men  have  repeatedly 
taken  arms,  and  prevented  the  sitting  of  the  Court  of  Com 
mon  Pleas.  In  Worcester,  Berkshire,  and  Hampshire,  the 
people  in  general  are  said  to  be  discontented,  and  to  com 
plain  of  taxation,  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  of  the 
salaries  of  public  officers,  and  of  debts,  public  and  private. 
All  these  are,  they  think,  intolerable  grievances,  and  they 
wish  to  abolish  them.  In  the  other  counties,  however, 
the  people  are  quiet,  and  in  general  firmly  attached  to  their 
constitution.  Among  the  rioters  that  have  appeared  several 
times  in  opposition  to  the  courts  of  justice,  there  has  not 
been  one  man  of  any  reputation  in  the  State ;  and  there 
have  been  consequently  a  number  of  leaders.  Three  of 
them  have  lately  been  taken,  and  it  is  probable  the  others 
will  soon  share  the  same  fate.  The  insurrections  are  not 
immediately  dangerous,  but  our  government  has  not  suffi 
cient  vigor  and  energy  to  suppress  them  at  once.  There 
has  appeared  in  the  councils  a  degree  of  timidity  and  irreso 
lution,  which  does  no  honor  to  the  executive  power  of  a 
commonwealth.  It  is  said  to  have  arisen  chiefly  from  the 


1787]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  29 

second  citizen  in  the  State,  who  is  now  distinguished  by  the 
ludicrous  nick-name  of  the  Old  Lady.1  I  am,  however,  in 
hopes  that  in  two  or  three  months  the  public  tranquillity 
will  be  completely  restored.  I  suspect  that  the  present 
form  of  government  will  not  continue  long,  for  while  the 
idle  and  extravagant,  and  consequently  the  poor,  complain 
of  its  being  oppressive,  the  men  of  property  and  considera 
tion  think  the  constitution  gives  too  much  liberty  to  the 
unprincipled  citizen,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  honest  and 
industrious.  The  opinion  that  a  pure  democracy  appears 
to  much  greater  advantage  in  speculation  than  when  re 
duced  to  practice  gains  ground,  and  bids  fair  for  popularity. 
I  feared  that  by  having  received  so  large  a  share  of  my 
education  in  Europe,  my  attachment  to  a  republican  gov 
ernment  would  not  be  sufficient  for  pleasing  my  country 
men  ;  but  I  find  on  the  contrary  that  I  am  the  best 
republican  here,  and  with  my  classmates,  if  I  ever  have 
any  disputes  on  the  subject,  I  am  always  obliged  to  defend 
that  side  of  the  question.  .  .  . 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BRAINTREE,  June  3Oth,   1787. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  am  at  length  released  from  the  multiplicity  of  business 
which  has  employed  so  much  of  my  time  for  the  last  eigh 
teen  months.  During  that  period  I  had  scarcely  a  leisure 
moment,  and  was  forced  to  a  degree  of  application  which  has 
been  injurious  to  my  health.  But  as  I  am  left  at  present 
free  from  every  employment,  I  shall  have  time  to  recruit, 
and  I  shall  also  be  able  to  give  more  frequent  testimonies 
of  the  attachment  to  my  friends  in  Europe,  who  perhaps 

1  Thomas  Gushing  (1725-1788),  lieutenant-governor  of  the  State. 


30  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1787 

have  just  grounds  to  complain  of  my  neglecting  to  write, 
notwithstanding  all  that  I  have  offered  for  my  justifica 
tion.  On  the  2Oth  of  the  present  month  I  concluded  my 
collegiate  course  and  returned  here,  as  the  Senior  class  are 
always  dismissed  four  weeks  before  Commencement.  At 
an  exhibition  which  took  place  at  the  beginning  of  April,  I 
delivered  the  inclosed  piece  upon  the  profession  of  the  law. 
Two  of  my  classmates  performed  at  the  same  time,  one  of 
which  spoke  upon  physic  and  the  other  upon  divinity.1 
The  comparative  utility  of  these  professions  was  the  topic, 
and  the  performance  was  honored  with  the  approbation  of 
the  audience.  It  may  savour  perhaps  of  vanity  in  me  to 
mention  this  circumstance,  and  I  should  have  said  nothing 
of  it  was  it  not  from  the  hope  that  it  would  afford  satis 
faction  to  the  best  of  parents.  I  have  allotted  to  me  for 
Commencement  an  English  oration,  upon  the  importance 
and  necessity  of  public  faith  to  the  well-being  of  a  com 
munity.  The  subject  is  noble  and  of  the  greatest  conse 
quence.  It  deserves  a  more  able  defender,  and  indeed 
requires  it;  for  our  public  faith  at  present  is  in  a  sad  con 
dition.  I  am  led  unaware  into  political  ground,  and  now  I 
am  there  I  must  indulge  myself. 

Mr.  Hancock  was  again  elected  governor  this  year,  and 
out  of  18,000  votes  he  had  more  than  13,000.  This  plainly 
shows  that  the  people  in  general  are  displeased  with  some 
part  of  Mr.  Bowdoin's  conduct;  but  it  is  the  caprice  of  an 
ungrateful  populace,  for  which  it  must  ever  be  impossible 
to  account.  Mr.  Hancock  is  very  much  involved  in  debt, 
if  common  report  be  true.  It  is  even  confidently  asserted 
that  his  present  estate  would  not  by  any  means  do  justice 

1  This  paper  is  found  with  the  letter.  It  is  entitled  "A  Conference  upon  the 
comparative  Utility  of  Law,  Physic  and  Divinity,"  and  the  other  two  speakers 
were  Moses  Little  and  Nathaniel  Freeman.  The  paper  was  "spoken"  on  April  10. 


x787]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  31 

to  his  creditors.  It  is  therefore  concluded  that  he  would 
favor  tender  acts,  paper  currencies,  and  all  those  measures 
which  would  give  the  sanction  of  the  law  to  private  fraud 
and  villany.  It  was  supposed  that  a  Senate  and  an  House 
of  Representatives  would  be  chosen,  perfectly  willing  to 
abolish  all  contracts  public  and  private,  ready  in  short  to 
redress  the  people's  grievances,  that  is,  to  gratify  their 
passions  and  justify  their  crimes.  But  these  fears  were 
not  entirely  well  grounded.  There  are  indeed  several  Sena 
tors  and  many  representatives  who  would  stick  at  nothing. 
A  Willard,1  a  Drury,2  a  Whitney,3  and  many  others  who 
have  openly  espoused  the  cause  of  treason  and  rebellion, 
are  now  among  the  legislators  of  the  country.  Intestinam 
aliquam  quotidie  perniciem  reipublicae  molientes.  There  is 
however  in  both  branches  of  the  legislature  a  majority  of 
well-meaning  men,  who  will  support  the  dignity  of  the 
government,  and  who  will  not  prostitute  the  honor  of  their 
country.  A  motion  was  made  a  few  days  since  that  a 
committee  should  be  appointed  to  examine  the  merits  of  a 
paper  currency,  and  to  report  upon  the  expediency  of  an 
emission  at  present.  But  there  was  a  majority  of  more 
than  fifty,  even  against  the  committing  it.  It  has  been 
resolved  that  the  Court  should  move  out  of  the  town  of 
Boston,  and  the  committee  have  finally  recommended  Con 
cord  as  the  most  proper  place  to  which  it  may  be  removed. 
The  people  in  the  country  are  very  earnest  in  this  point, 
and  as  usual  without  knowing  why.  The  salaries  of  all 
civil  officers,  which  are  now  too  small,  will  infallibly  be 
reduced  still  lower.  Mr.  Hancock,  who  has  a  peculiar  tal 
ent  of  pleasing  the  multitude,  has  compounded  this  mat- 

1  Two  of  the  name  of  \YiIlard  were  in  the  new  House,  Dr.  Samuel,  of  Uxbridge, 
and  Jacob,  of  Ashburnham. 

2  Luke  Drury,  of  Grafton.  8  Josiah  Whitney,  of  Harvard. 


32  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1787 

ter  by  offering  to  make  a  present  to  the  public  of  3Oo£.1 
But  I  consider  this  as  a  pernicious  precedent,  a  palliative 
worse  than  it  would  have  been,  had  the  legislature  cur 
tailed  the  salary.  For  if  one  man  gives  up  3Oo£,  another, 
fishing  equally  for  popularity,  may  give  more,  and  the  chair 
of  government  may  finally  be  offered  to  the  lowest  bidder. 
It  is  impossible  for  a  free  nation  to  subsist  without  parties, 
and  unfortunately  our  parties  are  not  yet  formed.  The 
democratical  branch  of  our  government  is  at  present  quite 
unrivalled,  and  we  severely  feel  the  want  of  sufficient 
strength  in  the  other  branches.  The  Senate  indeed  has 
several  times  within  these  eighteen  months  saved  the 
Commonwealth  from  complete  anarchy,  and  perhaps  from 
destruction;  but  its  hands  are  tied,  and  the  people  are 
too  generally  disposed  to  abolish  the  Senate  as  an  useless 
body.  I  have  indeed  great  hopes  that  the  "Defence  of  the 
Constitutions"  will  produce  an  alteration  in  their  senti 
ments.  It  will  certainly  have  great  weight.  One  printer 
in  Boston  is  employed  in  printing  a  new  edition  of  this 
book,2  and  another  is  retailing  it  twice  a  week,  in  a  news 
paper,3  so  that  I  hope  it  will  be  sufficiently  spread  through 
out  the  Commonwealth.  As  to  the  monarchical  power,  it 
appears  to  be  entirely  out  of  the  question,  and  unless  by  a 
revolution  it  be  established  upon  the  ruin  of  the  two  others, 
it  will  never  possess  influence  sufficient  to  hold  the  balance 
between  them. 

There  was  this  year  no  choice  of  a  lieutenant  governor 
by  the  people.  Mr.  Cushing  4  and  General  Lincoln  were 
the  primary  candidates.  Mr.  Gorham  and  General  Heath 

1  See  Massachusetts  Centinel,  June  27,  1787. 

2  Edmund  Freeman.     The  book  appeared  in  1788. 

*  The  Massachusetts  Gazette,  beginning  June  22,  and  running  to  September  7, 
1787.  4  Thomas  Cushing  and  Nathaniel  Gorham. 


i787]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  33 

had  likewise  some  hundreds  of  votes.  The  House  sent  up 
Mr.  Gushing  and  Mr.  Gorham  to  the  Senate,  because 
General  Lincoln  was  a  military  character.  The  Senate 
were  unanimous  in  favor  of  Mr.  Gushing,  who  will  probably 
drop  at  the  next  election.  Mr.  Adams  1  has  been  much 
opposed  to  General  Lincoln,  and  had  sufficient  influence  to 
prevent  his  being  chosen  even  as  a  councillor,  because  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati.  It  is  strange 
that  no  one  dares  attack  this  institution  openly.  It  is 
daily  acquiring  strength,  and  will  infallibly  become  a  body 
dangerous,  if  not  fatal  to  the  Constitution.  Immediately 
after  the  death  of  General  Greene,  it  was  asked  by  one  of 
the  State  Societies  that  his  eldest  son,  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
should  take  his  seat  as  a  member.  I  was  perfectly  astonished 
to  see  no  notice  taken  of  this  measure  by  the  public.  By 
dropping  the  hereditary  part  of  the  constitution,  they  will 
after  some  time  reduce  themselves  to  a  small  number,  and 
by  admitting  the  sons  of  the  most  distinguished  characters, 
they  obtain  their  end,  as  completely  as  if  it  were  professedly 
hereditary.  But  as  they  are  not  immediately  dangerous, 
and  there  are  so  many  other  difficulties  that  engage  the 
attention  of  the  public,  nothing  is  said,  or  done  upon  the 
subject,  and  they  are  suffered  to  take  their  own  course.2 
A  free  people  always  were  and  always  will  be  ready  to  strain 
at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  camel.3  .  .  . 

1  Samuel  Adams. 

1  The  subject  of  the  Cincinnati  had  been  much  discussed  in  1784,  and  the 
general  unpopularity  of  the  institution  fully  developed.  John  Adams,  then  in 
Europe,  wrote  in  severe  terms  of  it  to  Lafayette  (Works  of  John  Adams,  VIII. 
192),  and  he  was  not  alone  in  believing  the  newly  formed  society  "against  the 
spirit  of  our  governments  and  the  genius  of  our  people." 

1  "I  consider  as  one  of  the  most  fortunate  circumstances  of  my  life  that  I  came 
from  Europe  as  I  did ;  it  has  been  of  great  and  real  service  to  me  in  many  particu 
lars.  It  has  reduced  my  opinion  of  myself  and  of  my  future  prospects  to  a  nearer 
level  with  truth ;  so  that  making  allowances  for  the  general  exaggerations  of  youth, 

D 


34  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1787 

TO  JEREMY  BELKNAP 

BRAINTREE,  August  6,  1787. 
SIR, 

I  received  your  favor  of  the  3d  instant,  and  am  really 
at  a  loss  how  to  return  you  my  thanks  for  the  undeserved 
expression  of  politeness  which  it  contains.  With  respect  to 
the  publication  of  my  performance,1  I  wish  equally  to  avoid 

I  do  not  overrate  myself  more  than  people  in  general  are  apt  to  do.  It  has  enabled 
me  to  form  an  intimate  friendship  with  a  number  of  worthy  characters  of  the  same 
standing  in  life  with  myself;  and  it  has  been  the  means  of  turning  my  attention 
to  several  important  branches  of  study,  which  otherwise  I  must  have  neglected. 
There  are  at  the  university  two  private  societies  formed  upon  a  similar  plan  to 
that  which  you  mention  in  one  of  your  late  letters.  Of  these  societies  friendship 
is  the  soul,  and  literary  improvement  the  object;  and  consequently  neither  of 
them  is  numerous.  I  was  received  as  a  member  of  both  those  societies  very  soon 
after  my  admission  at  the  university,  and  I  am  certain  that  the  institutions  are  of 
great  service  to  those  who  belong  to  them.  In  short  I  am  now  so  firmly  persuaded 
of  the  superior  advantages  of  a  public  education,  that  I  only  regret  I  did  not  enter 
the  university  a  year  and  a  half  sooner  than  I  did."  To  his  mother,  August  I,  1787. 
Ms. 

1  On  Wednesday  July  18,  at  the  commencement  exercises  at  the  University  in 
Cambridge,  Adams  delivered  an  oration  "  Upon  the  importance  and  necessity  of 
Publick  Faith  to  the  well-being  of  a  community."  A  writer  in  the  Massachusetts 
Centinel,  of  July  21,  said:  "The  two  principal  performances  were  the  Orations  by 
Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Freeman.  The  first  of  these  certainly  declaimed  upon  a  well- 
chosen  subject,  in  a  manly,  sensible  and  nervous  style  of  eloquence.  The  public 
expectations  from  this  gentleman,  being  the  son  of  an  Ambassador,  the  favourite 
of  the  officers  of  the  college,  and  having  enjoyed  the  highest  advantages  of  Euro 
pean  instruction,  were  greatly  inflated.  The  performance  justified  the  preconceived 
partiality.  He  is  warmly  attached  to  the  republican  system  of  his  father,  and  des 
canted  upon  the  subject  of  public  justice  with  great  energy.  Mr.  Adams's  indispu 
table  superiour,  in  style,  elegance  and  oratory,  is  the  graceful  Mr.  Freeman.  It  is 
thought  almost  impossible  for  him  to  exceed  his  accomplished  rival  who  spoke  be 
fore  him  —  but  to  Freeman  every  thing  was  easy.  They  were  both  considerably 
agitated  when  they  arose,  and  seemed  to  recover  a  decent  confidence  after  the 
same  interval.  Freeman  was  not  deficient  in  energy  of  diction  —  in  mellifluousness 
he  was  unequalled.  He  had  happily  imitated  that  plain  and  just  model  of  elo 
quence  which  has  been  attended  with  the  most  flattering  success  in  this  country. 


i787]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  35 

giving  any  just  ground  for  a  charge  of  presumption  or  of 
obstinacy.  The  reason  which  induced  me  to  wish  that 
Harris's  *  poem  might  be  published  was  that  I  supposed  it 
might  in  some  measure  serve  as  a  justification  for  me. 
But  I  fear,  Sir,  that  persons  of  judgment  and  candor  who 
were  present  at  Commencement,  and  who  would  therefore 
be  proper  judges  of  the  comparative  merit  of  the  perfor 
mances  on  that  day  would  be  displeased  to  see  mine  alone 
in  print,  and  would  reasonably  think  it  a  breach  of  common 
decency  in  me  to  consent  to  it.  This  is  my  objection.  I 
only  request  that  you  would  weigh  it  in  your  own  mind, 
and  I  will  leave  it  to  you  to  determine  whether  I  ought  not 
to  prevent  the  publication.  Judge  me  impartially,  and 
without  favor  and  I  shall  readily  submit  to  your  decision. 

If  you  should  finally  conclude  to  have  it  printed,  I  do 
not  wish  that  anything  should  be  said  respecting  the  diffi 
culty  of  obtaining  a  copy;  any  preface  of  that  kind  could 
at  best  only  palliate  my  faults,  and  would  only  give  an  air 
of  importance  to  the  piece,  which  it  does  not  deserve,  and 
which  it  could  not  support.  Apologies  of  this  nature  never 
have  any  influence  upon  impartial  persons,  and  these  are 
the  only  characters  I  am  fearful  of  offending. 

To  the  publication  of  the  name  my  objections  are  more 
numerous  and  still  stronger  than  to  the  other  point.  In 
several  collegiate  performances  which  have  heretofore 
been  published  the  names  are  omitted:  indeed,.!  do  not 
recollect  that  I  ever  saw  one  with  the  name  before  it.  If 
the  piece  is  said  to  have  been  delivered  by  one  of  the  can 
didates  for  the  bachelor's  degree  at  the  last  Commence- 
In  short,  these  young  gentlemen  discovered  those  qualities  that  must  ensure  them 
eminence,  and  we  hope  for  the  sake  of  their  country,  they  may  be  rivals  in  the 
cultivation  of  those  talents  through  life."  On  an  alleged  intrigue  in  the  distribu 
tion  of  the  commencement  honors  see  Massachusetts  Ccntind,  September  15,  1787. 

'Thaddeus  Mason  Harris  (1768-1842). 


36  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1787 

ment,  I  confess  I  cannot  see  of  what  importance  it  can  be, 
either  to  the  university,  or  to  the  public,  that  the  individual 
person  should  be  named.  And  if  my  father  has  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  render  services  of  importance  to  his  country 
men,  that  is  certainly  no  reason  why  they  should  be  preju 
diced  in  favor  of  his  son. 

I  have,  however,  such  an  implicit  confidence  in  your 
judgment,  that  I  shall  leave  even  this  point  to  your  final 
determination  :  and  if  you  think  these  reasons  sufficiently 
valid,  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  return  the  oration  to  Mr. 
Foster,  who  will  transmit  it  to  me.  With  every  sentiment 
of  esteem  and  respect,  I  remain,  Sir,  etc. 


TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

NEWBURYPORT,  December  23d,  1787. 
DEAR  MADAM  : 

It  is  a  long  time  since  I  wrote  you  last,  but  I  am  per 
fectly  weary  of  making  apologies.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
my  friends  will  forgive  me,  when  they  recollect  the  causes 
which  have  prevented  me  from  informing  them  frequently 
of  those  trivial  events,  which  the  partiality  of  friendship 
alone  can  render  interesting.  When  I  was  last  in  Boston 
which  was  about  two  months  ago,  I  wrote  a  few  hasty 
lines  to  my  father,  intending  to  write  more  largely  soon  after 
my  return  to  this  place.  I  have  delayed  fulfilling  my 
intentions  from  time  to  time,  either  from  the  want  of  an 
opportunity,  or  from  the  multiplicity  of  my  employments, 
and  even  now,  I  know  not  whether  this  letter  will  go  within 
these  three  months. 

In  the  beginning  of  September  I  came  to  this  town,  and 
began  the  study  of  the  law  with  Mr.  Parsons.  I  could 
not  possibly  have  an  instructor  more  agreeable  than  this 


i787]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  37 

gentleman.  His  talents  are  great,  his  application  has  been 
indefatigable,  and  his  professional  knowledge  is  surpassed 
by  no  gentleman  in  the  Commonwealth.  The  study  itself 
is  far  from  being  so  destitute  of  entertainment  as  I  had 
been  led  to  expect.1  I  have  read  three  or  four  authors  with 
pleasure  as  well  as  improvement,  and  the  imaginary  terrors 
of  tediousness  and  disgust,  have  disappeared,  upon  the 
first  approach.  But  in  their  stead  other  fears  have  arisen 
which  create  more  anxiety  in  my  mind,  and  which  will 
increase  rather  than  subside.  The  popular  odium  which 
has  been  excited  against  the  practitioner  in  this  Common 
wealth  prevails  to  so  great  a  degree,  that  the  most  innocent 
and  irreproachable  life  cannot  guard  a  lawyer  against  the 
hatred  of  his  fellow  citizens.  The  very  despicable  writ 
ings  of  Honestus  2  were  just  calculated  to  kindle  a  flame 
which  will  subsist  long  after  they  are  forgotten.  The  author 
after  being  hoisted  by  this  weak  instrument  into  the  Senate 
has  already  returned  to  his  native  insignificancy,  and  under 
the  new  adopted  signature  of  Candidus,  defends  a  good 
cause  without  ability  and  without  success.  But  the  poison 
has  been  so  extensively  communicated,  that  its  infection 
will  not  easily  be  stopped.  A  thousand  lies  in  addition  to 
those  published  in  the  papers  have  been  spread  all  over 
the  country,  to  prejudice  the  people  against  the  order,  as 
it  has  invidiously  been  called  ;  and  as  a  free  people  will 
not  descend  to  disguise  their  sentiments,  the  gentlemen  of 
the  profession  have  been  treated  with  contemptuous  neg 
lect,  and  with  insulting  abuse.  But  notwithstanding  all 

1  The  diary  of  Adams  while  at  Newburyport,  and  covering  the  period  from  August 
9,  1787,  to  September  18,  1789,  was  printed  by  Charles  Francis  Adams  in  2  Mass. 
Hist.  Soc.  Proceedings,  XVI.  291,  and  in  separate  form,  Life  in  a  New  England 
Town:   1787,  1788.     Boston,  1903. 

2  Benjamin  Austin  (1752-1820),  whose  tract  Observations  on  tke  pernicious  Prac 
tice  of  the  Law  appeared  in  1786. 


38  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1787 

this  the  profession  is  increasing  rapidly  in  numbers,  and 
the  little  business  to  be  done  is  divided  into  so  many  shares, 
that  they  are  in  danger  of  starving  one  another.  When  I 
consider  these  disadvantages,  which  are  in  a  degree  peculiar 
to  the  present  time,  and  those  which  at  all  times  subsist; 
when  I  reflect  that  good  abilities,  great  application,  and  a 
favorable  fortune  are  requisite  to  acquire  that  eminence  in 
the  profession  which  can  insure  a  decent  subsistence,  I 
confess  I  am  sometimes  almost  discouraged,  and  ready  to 
wish  I  had  engaged  in  some  other  line  of  life.  But  I  am 
determined  not  to  despond.  With  industry  and  frugality, 
with  patience  and  perseverance,  it  will  be  very  hard  if  I 
cannot  go  through  the  world  with  honor.  I  am  most 
resolutely  determined  not  to  spend  my  days  in  a  dull  tenor 
of  insipidity.  I  never  shall  be  enough  of  a  stoic  to  raise 
myself  beyond  the  reach  of  fortune.  But  I  hope  I  shall 
have  so  much  resolution  as  shall  enable  me  to  receive  pros 
perity  without  growing  giddy  and  extravagant,  or  adver 
sity  without  falling  into  despair. 

I  board  at  a  Mrs.  Leathers's,1  a  good  old  woman,  who 
even  an  hundred  years  ago  would  have  stood  in  no  danger 
of  being  hanged  for  witchcraft.  She  is  however  civil  and 
obliging,  and  what  is  very  much  in  her  favor,  uncommonly 
silent ;  so  that  if  I  am  deprived  of  the  charms,  I  am  also 
free  from  the  impertinence  of  conversation.  There  is  one 
boarder  beside  myself  —  a  Dr.  Kilham,2  (I  hope  the  name 
will  not  scare  you)  one  of  the  representatives  from  this 
town,  a  very  worthy  man,  and  a  man  of  sense  and  learning. 
Was  it  not  for  him  I  should  be  at  my  lodgings  as  solitary 
as  an  hermit.  There  is  a  very  agreeable  society  in  the  town, 
though  I  seldom  go  into  company. 

1  She  lived  on  State  Street,  near  Parsons'  office. 
a  Daniel  Kilham. 


i787]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  39 

I  passed  two  or  three  days  at  Haverhill,  about  a  month 
ago,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  finding  Mr.  Thaxter.1  From 
the  severest  censurer  of  every  trifling  attentions  between 
lovers,  he  became  as  fond  a  shepherd  as  ever  was  celebrated 
in  the  annals  of  Arcadia.  He  expects  some  peculiar  ani 
madversions  from  you,  for  his  desertion  of  principles,  which 
he  formerly  boasted  were  so  deeply  rooted  in  his  mind. 
But  it  is  the  old  story  of  Benedick.  The  absurdity  is  not 
in  abandoning  a  vain,  ineffectual  resolution,  but  it  is  in 
pretending  to  adopt  a  resolution,  which  every  day  may  be 
rendered  futile. 

I  have  frequently  been  prevented  from  expatiating  in 
my  letters  upon  political  topics  by  the  sterility  of  the 
subject;  an  uncommon  fertility  now  produces  the  same 
effect.  I  can  only  say  in  general  terms  that  parties  run 
very  high,  and  that  we  are  most  probably  at  the  eve  of  a 
revolution.  Whether  it  will  be  effected  in  silence,  and 
without  a  struggle,  or  whether  it  will  be  carried  at  the 
point  of  the  sword,  is  yet  a  question.  The  newspapers  will 
show  you  how  much  the  public  is  engaged  in  the  discus 
sion  of  the  new  continental  form  of  government,  which  I 
fear  will  be  adopted. 

From  the  remainder  of  the  family  you  will  probably 
hear,  by  the  same  opportunity  that  is  to  convey  this.  When 
I  last  heard  from  my  brothers  they  were  well.  Your  ever 
affectionate  son. 

1  John  Thaxter,  Jr.  (1755-1791).     See  Works  of  John  Adams,  index. 


40  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1789 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

NEWBURYPORT,  June  28th,  1789. 


DEAR  SIR  : 


Three  months  have  elapsed  since  my  return  to  this  town. 
My  health  has  been  restored  beyond  my  expectations,  and 
I  have  been  able  without  injuring  it,  to  devote  a  larger 
portion  of  my  time  to  study  than  I  hoped  to  when  I  left 
Braintree.  Lord  Coke,  Saunders,  Hale  and  Blackstone 
have  contributed  to  add  to  my  small  stock  of  professional 
knowledge,  and  I  have  made  some  researches  into  the 
doctrine  of  pleading.  My  greatest  apprehensions  at  present 
are  with  respect  to  the  practical  part  of  the  profession. 
The  skill  to  apply  general  knowledge  to  particular  cases  is 
no  less  important  than  the  knowledge  itself;  and  a  new 
piece  of  mechanism  will  often  perform  its  operations  with 
great  irregularity,  however  well  it  may  be  constructed.  I 
remain  still  in  a  state  of  irresolution  and  suspense  with 
respect  to  the  place  of  my  future  residence.  I  have  con 
sulted  Mr.  Parsons  upon  the  subject :  he  said  he  could 
not  advise  me  so  well  at  present,  as  he  might  after  the 
federal  judiciary  system  shall  be  established,  because  he 
knew  not  what  vacancies  might  be  created  by  that  cir 
cumstance.  He  however  hinted  that  if  either  himself  or 
Mr.  Bradbury  1  should  be  removed  he  should  recommend 
this  place  to  me.  I  know  not  what  his  own  expectations 
are;  but  I  have  some  reason  to  suppose  he  has  his  eye 
upon  two  offices,  those  of  the  district  judge  and  Attorney 
General,  either  of  which  I  believe  would  suit  him  well. 
And  by  his  putting  the  supposition  of  his  being  taken  off 

1  Theophilus  Bradbury  (1739-1803),  in  1797  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Massachu 
setts  Supreme  Court. 


i789]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  41 

from  the  practice,  I  have  conjectured  that  there  was  in  his 
own  mind  an  idea  of  the  probability  of  his  appointment. 
As  I  believe  his  talents  are  much  better  calculated  to  ad 
minister  laws  than  to  make  them,  I  wish  he  may  succeed.1 
Perhaps  even  an  involuntary  consideration  of  my  own 
interest  has  some  effect  to  give  a  bias  to  my  opinion.  I  am 
the  more  free  to  make  this  confession,  because  I  suppose 
the  appointments  are  all  adjusted  ere  this  and  I  shall  not 
therefore  appear  in  the  humiliating  light  of  a  solicitor, 
which  I  wish  ever  to  avoid,  and  in  which  I  am  well  per 
suaded  I  should  be  unsuccessful  were  I  now  to  assume  it. 

As  our  newspapers  are  probably  transmitted  to  you  with 
regularity,  I  can  give  you  very  little  news  in  the  public 
line.  The  very  great  majority  of  votes  by  which  Mr. 
H[ancock]  was  reelected,  and  the  influence  which  was 
successfully  exerted  for  Mr.  A[dams],  appeared  somewhat 
singular  after  the  event  of  all  the  contests  relating  to  the 
federal  elections.2  There  have  been  a  variety  of  subordi 
nate  political  manoeuvres  in  the  choice  of  representatives 
of  the  different  towns.  Those  in  Boston  you  have  un 
doubtedly  been  informed  of.  There  was  in  this  town  a 
faint  struggle  for  a  change  in  the  representation,  but  the 
old  members  came  in  with  a  respectable  majority. 

Our  General  Court,  after  sitting  about  a  month,  and 
busying  themselves  upon  the  subject  of  finance  just  suffi- 

1  Gore,  who  was  about  to  receive  the  office  of  United  States  district  attorney  for 
Massachusetts,  thus  passes  upon  the  candidates  for  district  judge  :  "  [James]  Sullivan 
is  well  qualified  in  point  of  capacity,  but  the  world  says  that  his  heart  is  not  true. 
Parsons  in  a  superior  degree  is  qualified  as  a  lawyer,  but  as  a  man  he  possesses  not 
one  qualification.     [Francis]  Dana  is  talked  of,  and  were  his  health  not  very  un 
certain,  he  would  undoubtedly  be  a  fit  man.     [William]  Tudor  and  [W.]  Wetmore  are 
likewise  candidates.  .  .  .     They  are  both  honest  men,  and  the  latter  a  painstaking 
lawyer,  as  the  phrase  is."     Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  367. 

2  Samuel  Adams  took  the  oath  as  lieutenant  governor  of  Massachusetts,  May 
27,  1789. 


42  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1789 

cient  to  refer  it  over  to  the  next  session,  have  adjourned  to 
some  time  in  January,  when  it  will  be  too  late  in  the  po 
litical  year  to  adopt  any  decisive  measures.  There  has 
been  a  scheme  on  foot  for  sinking  our  State  debt  by  means 
of  a  lottery.  From  Mr.  Parsons's  conversation  I  have 
supposed  that  the  plan  originated  with  him,  and  in  his 
speculative  principles  he  thinks  it  would  reconcile  the 
claims  of  public  justice  with  the  interests  of  an  impotent 
debtor.  The  proposal  was  to  redeem  £40,000  of  the  debt 
by  refunding  only  £10,000  in  specie  to  the  adventurers. 
Besides  the  impropriety  of  encouraging  a  gambling  dis 
position  among  the  people,  I  confess  the  plan  appears  to 
me  equally  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  a  sovereign 
state  and  with  the  integrity  of  an  honest  debtor.  For 
whatever  expedients  may  be  used  to  conceal  or  disguise 
the  iniquity  of  the  transaction,  nothing  can  be  more  clear 
than  that  where  a  debt  of  £40,000  is  paid  with  10,000  the 
creditor  must  be  defrauded.  The  bill  passed  in  the  House 
by  a  majority  of  73  to  52,  but  was  non-concurred  by  the 
Senate.1  .  .  . 

The  proceedings  of  Congress  have  almost  entirely  super 
seded  all  other  subjects  of  political  speculation.  The 
revenue  bill  has  hitherto  chiefly  engaged  the  public  atten 
tion.  The  original  duty  upon  molasses  exceedingly  alarmed 
many  of  our  West  India  merchants,  and  whatever  may  be 
said  of  discarding  all  local  and  personal  considerations,  they 

1  "Till  the  intention  of  Congress  is  known  relative  to  the  assumption  of  funds, 
the  state  cannot,  with  propriety,  make  any  arrangement  for  the  payment  of  their 
debts.  If  the  national  government  could  assume  the  different  State  debts,  the 
consequence  I  should  presume  would  be  greatly  beneficial  to  America.  But  if 
attempted,  this  must  be  done  speedily.  That  it  will  tend  to  a  consolidation  of  the 
union  will  presently  be  foreseen  and  therefore  objected  to  by  State  demagogues." 
Gore'to  King,  June  7,  1789.  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  362.  Hamil 
ton  did  not  become  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  until  September  of  this  year 


1 78Q]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  43 

have  not,  I  believe,  been  so  much  pleased  with  any  act  of 
the  President  of  the  Senate,  as  his  turning  the  vote  for 
reducing  the  duty  to  three  cents.1  This  observation  how 
ever  only  applies  to  a  few,  for  I  do  not  know  that  the  cir 
cumstance  is  generally  known.  The  judiciary  bill  has  not 
yet  been  published  here.  I  had  a  transient  sight  of  a  copy, 
which  I  believe  Mr.  Dalton  sent.  Mr.  Parsons  thinks  six 
judges  will  not  be  enough,  and  objects  to  the  joining  the 
district  judge  to  the  other  two  in  the  circuits,  because  it 
gives  him  a  casting  voice  in  affirming  his  own  decisions. 
I  am,  etc.2 

ADDRESS   TO   PRESIDENT   WASHINGTON   BY  THE 
CITIZENS  OF  NEWBURYPORT3 

November,   1789. 

When  by  the  unanimous  suffrages  of  your  countrymen  you 
were  called  to  preside  at  her  councils,  the  citizens  of  the  town  of 
Newbury  Port  participated  in  the  general  joy  arising  from  a  pleas 
ing  anticipation  of  an  administration  conducted  by  one  to  whose 

1  This  was  an  error,  as  John  Adams  pointed  out  in  his  reply. 

2  The  United  States  Circuit  Courts  remained  in  existence  until  January  I,  1912, 
being  abolished  by  the  act  of  March  3,  1911. 

"  I  was  not  one  of  the  choir  who  welcomed  the  President  to  New  England' 's  shore, 
upon  his  arrival  here  by  land.  I  was,  however,  in  the  procession  which  was  formed 
here  to  receive  him  in  humble  imitation  of  the  Capital.  And  when  he  left  us,  I  was 
one  of  the  respectable  citizens  (as  our  newspapers  term  them)  who  escorted  him  on 
horse-back  to  the  lines  of  New  Hampshire.  ...  I  had  the  honor  of  paying  my 
respects  to  the  President  upon  his  arrival  in  this  town,  and  he  did  me  the  honor  to 
recollect  that  he  had  seen  me  a  short  time  before,  at  New  York.  I  had  the  honor 
of  spending  part  of  the  evening  in  his  presence  at  Mr.  Jackson's.  I  had  the  honor 
of  breakfasting  in  the  same  room  with  him  the  next  morning  at  Mr.  Dalton's.  I 
had  the  honor  of  writing  the  billet  which  the  major  general  of  the  county  sent  him 
to  inform  him  of  the  military  arrangements  he  had  made  for  his  reception.  And 
I  had  the  honor  of  draughting  an  address,  which  with  many  alterations  and  addi 
tions  (commonly  called  amendments)  was  presented  to  him  by  the  town  of  New- 
buryport."  —  To  Abigail  Adams,  December  5,  1789.  Ms. 


44  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

exertions  they  felt  themselves  so  much  indebted  for  their  in 
estimable  freedom. 

At  the  present  moment  they  indulge  themselves  in  sentiments 
in  joy  resulting  from  principles  perhaps  less  elevated,  but  equally 
dear  to  their  hearts ;  from  the  gratification  of  their  affection  in 
beholding  personally  among  them,  the  friend,  the  benefactor,  the 
father  of  his  country. 

They  cannot  hope,  Sir,  to  exhibit  any  peculiar  marks  of  attach 
ment  to  your  person,  since  in  expressing  the  feelings  of  the  warmest 
and  sincerest  gratitude,  they  could  only  re-echo  the  sentiments  which 
are  impressed  upon  the  hearts  of  all  their  fellow  citizens  as  deeply 
as  upon  their  own.  But  in  justice  to  themselves,  they  think  they 
are  authorized  to  assure  you,  that  in  no  part  of  the  United  States 
are  those  sentiments  of  gratitude  and  affection  more  cordial  and 
sincere,  than  in  the  town  which  at  this  time  is  honored  by  your 
presence. 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

NEWBURYPORT,  March  19,  1790. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  two  letters  from 
you,  of  the  9th  and  of  the  I9th  of  last  month,  the  former 
of  which  I  received,  about  three  weeks  ago,  while  I  was  at 
Boston,  attending  upon  the  session  of  our  Supreme  Court, 
and  the  latter  came  to  hand  but  two  days  since.  I  hope  I 
shall  ever  feel  suitably  grateful  for  the  tender  solicitude 
which  you  express  with  respect  to  my  future  prospects, 
and  I  trust  I  shall  always  be  sufficiently  sensible  of  the 
weight  and  importance  of  your  advice  and  directions  to 
regulate  my  conduct.  The  principal  subject  of  both  your 
letters  has  been  long  a  matter  of  contemplation  to  my  own 
mind.  I  have  been  for  some  months  expecting  the  judicial 
appointments,  upon  the  presumption  that  some  vacancies 
might  be  made,  which  would  open  a  way  for  making  a  more 


1790]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  45 

advantageous  settlement  in  some  part  of  the  Commonwealth 
than  there  could  be  while  those  gentlemen,  who  were  best 
qualified  for  seats  upon  the  bench,  were  still  at  the  Bar. 
But  the  appointments  are  now  made,  and  have  not  pro 
duced  the  smallest  alteration  in  the  prospects  of  a  young 
candidate  for  practice.  Mr.  Paine,  the  late  Attorney 
General,  never  did  any  other  business  than  that  of  the 
Commonwealth,1  though  Mr.  Sullivan,  to  the  same  office, 
unites  the  greatest  quantity  of  civil  business  of  any  gentle 
man  at  the  Bar.2  Mr.  Cushing  3  was  not  even  a  practitioner, 
so  that  notwithstanding  the  disposal  of  those  three  im 
portant  offices,  the  state  of  practice  remains  almost  wholly 
as  it  was  before. 

It  has  become  necessary,  however,  for  me  to  determine 
speedily  upon  the  spot  of  my  future  residence.  And  in 
reflecting  upon  the  subject,  my  mind  has  chiefly  hesitated 
between  this  town,  Boston  and  Braintrce.  It  was  at  one 
period  expected  that  Mr.  Bradbury,4  who  lives  at  \\-\v- 
buryport,  would  supply  the  place  upon  the  bench  which 
was  vacated  by  the  removal  of  Judge  Sewall.5  Had  this 
circumstance  taken  place,  I  should  have  been  strongly  in 
clined  to  make  an  experiment  in  this  place,  where  a  resi 
dence  of  three  years  has  already  made  me  better  known 
than  I  should  be  in  any  other  situation,  and  where  an  agree 
able  circle  of  acquaintance  would  render  the  station  pecu 
liarly  pleasing,  so  far  as  respects  the  intercourse  of  society. 

1  Robert  Treat  Paine  (1731-1814)  was  appointed  Attorney-General  of  Massachu 
setts  in  1780,  and  remained  in  that  office  until  1790,  when  he  became  a  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court. 

2  James  Sullivan  was  Attorney-General  of  Massachusetts  from    1790  to  1807, 
when  he  was  elected  governor. 

'Nathan  Cushing.  4  Theophilus  Bradbury. 

5  David  Sewall,  of  York,  who  was  appointed,  in  1789,  United  States  Judge  of 
the  district  of  Maine. 


46  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1790 

But  with  the  small  proportion  of  business  which  is  done 
in  the  county  of  Essex,  it  must  be  a  folly  to  expect  encourage 
ment  for  a  youth  in  a  town,  where  besides  Mr.  Parsons  and 
Mr.  Bradbury  there  are  two  other  gentlemen  of  the  pro 
fession.  As  I  could  live  at  less  expense  at  Braintree,  than 
in  Boston,  and  perhaps  should  have  less  avocations  from 
my  studies,  I  should  without  hesitation  go  there,  and  reside 
at  least  for  two  or  three  years  ;  but  my  cousin,  Mr.  Cranch,1 
will  be  there,  and  by  opening  offices  in  the  same  town  we 
could  only  divide  the  small  pittance  which  either  of  us 
singly  might  obtain.  I  could  not  in  that  case  board  in  his 
father's  family.  There  is  not  another  family  in  the  town 
(at  least  in  "that  part  of  the  town)  where  I  could  board 
with  any  convenience,  and  to  live  alone  in  one  of  your 
houses,  besides  the  unpleasant  circumstances  of  a  life  so 
solitary,  would  I  think  be  quite  as  expensive  as  to  live  in 
Boston,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  it  would  be 
necessary  for  me  to  be  as  much  as  one-third  part  of  my 
time  in  that  town  to  attend  upon  the  sessions  of  the  several 
judicial  courts.  Boston  therefore  remains  alone,  upon 
which  I  am  by  a  kind  of  necessity  constrained  to  fix  my 
choice.  I  cannot  say  I  am  pleased  with  the  manners  of 
the  town,  and  I  trust  the  opportunities  and  temptations 
to  dissipation,  which  I  shall  probably  find  there,  have  no 
influence  upon  my  determination,  unless  to  increase  the 
reluctance  with  which  I  make  it.  I  have  consulted  with 
Dr.  Tufts,2  with  Judge  Dana,  and  with  Dr.  Welsh  3  upon 
the  subject,  and  they  all  agree  in  the  opinion  that  I  can  do 
no  better  than  to  fix  upon  Boston,  and  as  you  have  in  one 
of  your  last  letters  expressed  your  approbation  of  the 
measure,  there  remains  little  doubt  in  my  mind,  but  that 

1  William  Cranch,  later  chief  justice  of  the  Circuit  Court,  Washington,  D.C. 

2  Cotton  Tufts  (1731-1815).  3  Thomas  Welsh  (1752-1831). 


i79o]  JOHN   QUIXCY  ADAMS  47 

I  shall  put  it  into  execution.  The  prospect,  it  is  true,  is 
not  encouraging;  but  if  a  resolute  determination  to  make 
my  own  way,  in  conjunction  with  the  small  talents  which 
have  been  allotted  to  me,  are  sufficient  to  procure  me  even 
a  moderate  degree  of  success,  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  much 
longer  a  burden  to  the  kindest  and  most  generous  of  parents. 

With  respect  to  the  article  of  board,  it  would  not  I  imagine 
be  easy  to  find  a  family  who  would  resign  the  front  room 
and  chamber,  as  there  is  but  one  of  each  in  the  house,  and 
unless  some  advantage  could  be  derived  from  the  circum 
stance  of  living  and  keeping  an  office  in  the  same  house,  I 
think  it  would  be  preferable  to  do  otherwise.  If  a  tenant 
can  be  found,  who  will  upon  consideration  of  a  suitable 
abatement  of  the  rent  resign  the  front  room  in  your  house, 
Dr.  Tufts  has  promised  to  secure  it  to  me  for  an  office. 
And  Dr.  Welsh  has  made  me  an  offer  to  board  me,  and 
let  me  have  a  chamber  in  a  house  to  which  he  expects  to 
remove,  before  I  shall  have  occasion  to  go  into  Boston.  I 
did  not  agree  with  him  upon  any  settled  terms,  but  I  pre 
sume  he  will  not  demand  more  than  three  dollars  by  the 
week.  In  the  town  I  have  always  given  two  and  one  half. 

Should  my  present  expectations  and  intentions  be  con 
firmed  I  shall  probably  get  settled  in  Boston  some  time  in 
August,1  and  I  shall  request  your  permission  to  remove 
thither  your  law  library,  which  is  now  at  Braintree.  The 
advantage  of  having  such  a  collection  of  books  around  me, 
will  give  me  perhaps  some  opportunities,  which  few  of  the 
young  gentlemen  of  the  profession  have  possessed,  and  they 
will  at  least  enable  me  to  employ  to  some  purpose  a  great 
portion  of  time  which  must  otherwise  lay  heavy  upon  my 
hands. 

1  In  the  second  week  of  August  he  removed  to  Boston  and  opened  an  office  in 
a  house  on  Court  Street,  belonging  to  John  Adams. 


48  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

I  believe  I  have  said  quite  enough  upon  a  subject  of  so 
little  consequence  as  myself.  I  wish  my  information  in  the 
political  line  were  such  as  would  enable  me  to  supply  you 
with  any  interesting  communications.  The  public  mind 
here  seems  chiefly  agitated  by  the  late  discussions  relative 
to  discrimination  and  to  the  assumption  of  the  debts.  The 
decision  upon  the  former  of  these  subjects,  meets  with  the 
approbation  of  almost  all  the  persons  with  whom  I  have 
had  opportunities  of  conversing.  But  I  am  apprehensive 
that  unless  the  consent  of  the  States  in  their  respective 
legislatures  is  requested  by  Congress  to  the  assumption, 
that  measure  will  be  extremely  unpopular,  even  in  this 
Commonwealth,  burthened  as  it  is  with  one  of  the  heaviest 
debts  in  the  union.  And  if  that  consent  should  be  re 
quired,  I  am  informed  by  those  who  are  more  connected 
with  political  affairs,  that  even  our  General  Court  will 
never  grant  it,  though  in  their  late  session  they  have  not 
made  provision  for  the  payment  of  a  quarter  part  of  the 
interest  upon  their  debt.  New  Hampshire,  whose  debt  is 
comparatively  trifling  will  be  still  more  opposed  to  this 
measure.  This  opposition  is  not  confined  to  the  party 
who  were  termed  anti-federalists.  Some  of  the  most 
strenuous  advocates  for  the  Constitution  are  alarmed  at 
the  prospects  of  a  consolidation  of  the  States  and  of  the 
dissolution  of  the  particular  governments.  And  they  dread 
to  see  an  article  so  weighty  and  important  as  the  State  debts 
taken  from  one  scale  and  added  to  the  other. 

The  internal  politics  of  the  State  are  in  a  state  of  tran- 
quility,  very  unusual  at  this  season.  The  opposers  of  the 
Governor,  discouraged  I  presume  by  the  ill  success  which 
they  have  always  experienced,  seem  determined  to  leave 
him  in  quiet  possession.  He  has  been  confined  as  usual 
all  winter  with  the  gout,  and  his  judicial  appointments 


i79o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  49 

have  been  the  only  public  circumstances  which  have  for 
some  time  past  been  the  subject  of  animadversion.  The 
appointment  of  Mr.  Paine  was  rather  popular.  That  of 
Mr.  Gushing  was  far  otherwise.  The  friends  of  the  Gov 
ernor  only  insist  upon  the  disinterested  magnanimity  of 
nominating  a  man  who  it  is  said  has  been  invariably  opposed 
to  his  measures,  while  his  enemies  are  so  far  from  acknowl 
edging  his  disinterestedness,  that  they  censure  him  very 
highly  for  nominating  to  one  of  the  most  important  offices 
in  the  State,  a  man  totally  unqualified  to  sustain  it,  merely 
to  be  freed  from  his  troublesome  opposition  as  a  councillor. 
The  late  Chief  Justice,1  revered  as  his  character  universally 
is,  does  not  altogether  escape  censure  for  recommending  so 
earnestly  his  cousin  to  an  employment,  to  which  he  is 
almost  universally  said  to  be  very  inadequate.  Your  duti 
ful  son. 

TO  JOHN   ADAMS 

NEWBURYPORT,  April  5th,  1790. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  have  more  than  once  mentioned  to  you  the  state  of 
retirement  from  political  conversation  in  which  I  live,  and 
the  restraints  which  I  am  endeavoring  to  lay  upon  a  dis 
position  inclining  perhaps  with  too  much  ardor  to  feel 
interested  in  public  occurrences.  But  it  sometimes  happens 
that  I  am  accidentally  witness  to  conversations  upon  these 
subjects,  from  which  I  collect  some  trifling  information, 
that  I  imagine  might  at  least  not  be  unentertaining  to  you. 
In  general  I  have  supposed  that  your  other  correspondents 
in  this  quarter  would  anticipate  me,  and  that  I  should  only 
employ  your  time  in  reading  a  relation  of  occurrences 

1  William  Gushing,  who  was,  in  1789,  appointed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States. 


50  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1790 

which  would  not  even  have  with  you  the  merit  of  novelty. 
But  from  some  late  letters  I  have  been  led  (though  perhaps 
erroneously)  to  imagine  your  correspondents  here  have  not 
been  so  punctual  in  their  communications,  as  they  have 
been  formerly,  and  I  have  supposed  I  might  mention  some 
circumstances,  which  though  generally  known  here  might 
not  be  public  at  New  York. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  hostile  character  of  our  general 
and  particular  governments  each  against  the  other  is  in 
creasing  with  accelerated  rapidity.  The  spirit  which  at  the 
time  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  it  was  contended 
would  always  subsist  of  balancing  one  of  these  governments 
by  the  other  has  I  think  almost  totally  disappeared  already, 
and  the  seeds  of  two  contending  factions  appear  to  be 
plentifully  sown.  The  names  of  Federalist  and  Anti- 
federalist  are  no  longer  expressive  of  the  sentiments  which 
they  were  so  lately  supposed  to  contain,  and  I  expect  soon 
to  hear  a  couple  of  new  names,  which  will  designate  the 
respective  friends  of  the  national  and  particular  systems. 
The  people  are  very  evidently  dividing  into  these  two  parties. 
What  the  event  will  be  I  hardly  allow  myself  to  conjecture, 

but  my  soul  asks 

To  know  when  two  authorities  are  up, 
Neither  supreme,  how  soon  confusion 
May  enter  'twixt  the  gap  of  both,  and  take 
The  one  by  the  other. 

In  point  of  measures  the  government  of  the  United  States 
has  undoubtedly  greatly  the  advantage.  But  while  they 
are  strengthening  their  hands  by  assuming  the  debts,  and 
by  making  provision  for  the  support  of  the  public  credit, 
the  partisans  of  our  State  government  are  continually  upon 
the  rack  of  exertion  to  contrive  every  paltry  expedient  to 


i79o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  51 

maintain  their  importance  and  to  check  the  operations  of 
the  government,  which  they  behold  with  terror.  As  they 
can  only  clamor  upon  subjects  of  importance,  their  active 
efforts  are  used  in  appointing  a  premature  fast,  or  in  oppos 
ing  the  cession  of  a  light  house.  In  the  last  session  of  our 
General  Court  the  light  houses  in  this  Commonwealth  were 
not  ceded  to  Congress.  And  the  keeper  of  that  at  the 
entrance  of  Boston  Harbor  has  been  forbidden  upon  his 
peril  to  receive  any  directions  or  pay  from  the  federal 
officer.  But  the  imbecility  of  our  government  renders  all 
these  exertions  the  more  ridiculous  ;  for  while  they  endeavor 
to  prevent  the  assumption  of  their  debt,  they  cannot  even 
provide  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  upon  it.  And  they 
have  never  yet  paid  for  two  light  houses  at  the  entrance  of 
this  harbor,  although  they  are  so  solicitous  to  retain  them. 

The  history  of  the  additional  amendments  to  the  Con 
stitution  proposed  by  a  joint  committee  of  our  two  houses, 
affords  further  evidence  of  the  petty  arts  which  are  used 
by  the  enemies  to  the  national  union  to  turn  the  tide  of 
popular  opinion  against  the  national  government.  Mr. 
Austin,  who,  as  I  have  been  informed,  had  the  principal 
agency  in  that  affair,  never  expected  that  any  amendments 
would  be  seriously  proposed  to  Congress  by  our  Legislature ; 
and  there  is  an  internal  evidence,  the  report  of  the  Com 
mittee,  that  it  was  intended  for  a  declamation  to  the  people 
rather  than  for  amendments  to  the  Constitution.  They 
are  not  even  pretended  to  be  amendments,  but  after  the 
long  commonplace  rhapsody  upon  the  dangerous  tendency 
of  the  government,  when  we  come  to  the  articles,  we  find 
them  pretended  to  be  nothing  but  principles  for  amend 
ments.  The  Committee  consisted  of  seven  members,  of 
whom  only  four  were  present  when  this  report  was  agreed 
upon.  Mr.  Dana  who  drew  it  up  was  one  of  the  absent, 


52  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

and  it  is  said  afterwards  declared,  that  he  should  have 
objected  to  the  two  last  articles  (perhaps  the  most  impor 
tant  of  the  whole  number),  though  he  drafted  them  himself. 
The  two  other  absent  members  utterly  disclaimed  the  re 
port,  and  the  chairman,  who  did  not  vote,  was  equally 
opposed  to  it.  Three  members  only  agreed  upon  the 
point,  and  when  they  produced  the  paper  in  the  Senate, 
they  obtained  a  vote  to  have  a  certain  number  of  copies 
printed.  It  was  then  dismissed  without  being  suffered  to 
undergo  the  test  of  an  examination,  and  Mr.  Austin,  I  am 
told,  made  no  scruple  to  acknowledge  that  he  had  answered 
his  purpose. 

Yet  even  when  opportunities  are  presented,  where  the 
importance  of  our  own  government  might  be  really  in 
creased,  some  other  little  selfish  interested  principle  steps 
in,  and  produces  measures  calculated  to  bring  it  into  con 
tempt.  The  appointment  of  N.  Gushing  upon  the  bench 
of  our  Supreme  Court  has  certainly  not  tended  to  increase 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  that  important  branch  of 
the  government.  The  appointment  was  very  unpopular ; 
and  what  perhaps  in  a  political  view  rendered  the  measure 
the  more  injudicious  is,  that  it  is  not  his  integrity  but  his 
abilities  that  are  called  in  question.  But  personal  ani 
mosity  against  the  characters  who  would  have  added 
dignity  to  that  station,  the  apprehension  of  giving  offence 
to  the  late  Chief  Justice,  who  it  is  said  recommended  his 
cousin  too  strongly,  and  the  pleasure  of  removing  a  trouble 
some  councillor,  concurring  together,  were  too  powerful 
even  for  anti-federal  principles,  and  produced  we  are  told  a 
nomination,  which  could  be  accounted  for  upon  no  other 
motives.  The  only  liberal  and  generous  measure  by  which 
they  have  pursued  their  system  has  been  the  raising  the 
salaries  of  our  judges,  and  I  fear  they  would  not  have  sue- 


i79o]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  53 

ceeded  even  in  that,  had  not  the  personal  interest  of  certain 
influential  men,  of  very  different  principles  been  engaged 
and  assisted  to  promote  it.  It  is  melancholy  to  observe 
how  much,  even  in  this  free  country,  the  course  of  public 
events  depends  upon  the  private  interests  and  passions  of 
individuals. 

But  the  popularity  of  the  general  government  is,  and  for 
some  time  to  come  must  continue  to  be  disadvantageously 
affected  by  those  very  exertions  to  support  the  public 
credit,  which  must  eventually  strengthen  it  so  effectually. 
It  must  suffer,  however,  chiefly  in  the  seaports  and  among 
the  merchants  who  find  their  interests  affected  by  the 
operation  of  the  revenue  laws.  In  this  town  and  still  more 
in  Salem,  there  have  lately  been  considerable  clamors 
raised  by  men  who  have  been  the  firmest  friends  to  the 
Constitution  ;  and  there  is  now  I  presume  before  Congress 
a  petition  from  the  merchants  in  this  town,  praying  relief 
from  an  evil,  which  has  excited  great  complaints,  but  which 
will  probably  be  remedied  without  difficulty. 

Those  people  among  us  who  are  perpetually  upon  the 
search  for  causes  of  complaint  against  the  government,  are 
cavilling  at  the  dilatory  manner  with  which  the  Congress 
proceed  in  their  business.  The  decision  upon  the  subject 
of  discrimination  has  met  with  general  approbation  in  the 
circles  of  company  where  I  have  heard  it  mentioned,  and 
from  the  complexion  of  our  newspapers,  I  have  concluded 
that  the  public  opinion,  of  which  so  much  was  said  in  the 
debates,  is  here  much  in  favor  of  the  measure.  I  do  not 
think  indeed  that  the  public  opinion  can  always  be  collected 
from  newspapers,  but  they  are  never  silent  upon  unpopular 
topics  of  so  great  importance.  Mr.  Madison's  reputation 
has  suffered  from  his  conduct  in  that  affair;  and  Judge 
Dana  is  the  only  man  I  have  known  whose  character  gives 


54  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

weight  to  his  opinions,  that  has  adopted  those  of  Mr.  Madi 
son. 

The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  in  general 
met  with  great  approbation.  I  have  heard  it  almost  uni 
versally  spoken  of  with  great  applause.  Yet  I  am  almost 
ashamed  to  acknowledge  that  I  know  not  how  justly  it  is 
admired,  as  I  have  never  read  it.  This  neglect  has  rather 
been  owing  to  accident  than  to  inclination,  for  little  as  I 
attend  to  the  public  prints  I  should  certainly  have  noticed  a 
publication  of  so  important  a  nature,  had  I  been  in  the  way 
of  seeing  the  Gazette  of  the  United  States  which  contains  it. 
I  am  equally  ignorant  of  the  system  for  the  establishment 
of  the  militia,  which  is  as  much  disliked  as  the  treasurer's 
report  is  esteemed.  The  most  favorable  judgment  that  I 
have  heard  passed  upon  it  was,  that  however  excellent  it 
might  be,  it  would  never  be  submitted  to  by  the  people. 

I  know  not  but  that  I  shall  incur  your  censure  for  depart 
ing  even  in  this  instance  from  the  line  which  I  have  pre 
scribed  to  myself,  and  losing  the  lawyer  in  the  politician ; 
and  still  more  for  the  freedom  with  which  I  have  expressed 
myself  upon  public  men  and  measures.  If  I  should  on 
this  occasion  meet  with  your  disapprobation,  I  shall  with 
out  difficulty  observe  a  more  prudent  silence  upon  these 
subjects  in  future.  The  opinions  which  I  have  heard  ex 
pressed  are  no  evidence  of  the  general  opinion  even  through 
out  the  Commonwealth,  but  in  some  instances  they  have 
been  the  opinions  of  men  whose  influence  is  great  and  exten 
sive.  But  if  the  information  contained  in  this  letter  should 
compensate  in  your  mind  for  its  tediousness,  I  shall  from 
time  to  time  continue  to  give  you  a  similar  supply.1  In 
the  meantime  I  remain  your  affectionate  son. 

1  Upon  the  expiration  of  his  three  years  as  "clerk"  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Parsons, 
Adams  paid  him  in  full  for  his  tuition,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  lawful  money. 
On  August  9,  he  took  possession  of  his  Boston  office  on  Court  Street. 


i79o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  55 

TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  August  14,  1790. 
MY  DEAR  MADAM  : 

I  know  not  of  any  news.  The  principal  topic  of  conver 
sation  this  week  has  been  the  arrival  of  the  Columbia  from 
an  expedition  which  has  carried  her  round  the  world.  The 
adventurers  after  having  their  expectations  raised  to  the 
highest  pitch,  were  utterly  disappointed,  and  instead  of  the 
immense  profits  upon  which  they  had  calculated,  will 
scarcely  have  their  outsets  refunded  to  them.  This  failure 
has  given  universal  astonishment  and  is  wholly  attributed 
to  the  Captain,1  whose  reputation  now  remains  suspended 
between  the  qualifications  of  egregious  knavery  and  of 
unpardonable  stupidity.  Mr.  Barrell,2  I  am  informed,  is 
not  discouraged,  but  intends  to  make  the  experiment  once 
more,  and  if  he  should  not  meet  with  anybody  disposed  to 
second  him,  they  say  he  will  undertake  it  at  his  single  risk 
and  expense.  The  people  of  the  vessel  have  brought  home 
a  number  of  curiosities,  similar  to  those  which  you  have 
seen  at  Sir  Ashton  Lever's  Museum.  They  have  likewise 
brought  a  native  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,3  who  bound 
himself  as  a  servant  to  one  of  the  passengers.  He  was 
paraded  up  and  down  our  streets  yesterday,  in  the  dress  of 
his  country,  and  as  he  speaks  our  language  has  been  con 
versed  with  by  many  gentlemen  in  this  town.  One  of  the 
passengers  it  is  said  has  kept  a  very  accurate  journal  of 
the  voyage  and  proposes  to  extract  from  it  a  relation  for 
publication.4  It  will  probably  be  curious  ;  though  among 
uncivilized  and  barbarous  nations  it  appears  to  me  the 

1  John  Kcndrick.     See  Bancroft,  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  I.  185. 

2  Joseph  Barrell.  3  Described  as  from  the  island  of  Atowa. 

4  Probably  Robert  Haswell,  second  mate  of  the  companion  ship,  Lady  Washington. 


56  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1790 

observations  of  travellers  must  generally  consist  chiefly  in 
a  repetition  of  what  was  noticed  by  the  first  adventurer 
who  discovered  them.  The  situation  of  a  country  and 
whatever  relates  to  inanimate  matter  continues  the  same. 
The  peculiarities  of  the  animal  creation  when  once  re 
marked,  seldom  afford  any  further  field  for  information. 
It  is  from  man  that  we  must  always  derive  our  principal 
source  of  entertainment  and  instruction.  And  although 
the  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  may  perhaps  be  pro 
moted  by  inferences  drawn  from  the  manners  and  customs 
of  a  people  newly  discovered,  yet  the  savage  inhabitants 
of  a  petty  island,  cannot  have  many  customs  or  opinions 
which  may  not  be  discoverable  to  the  first  man  who  becomes 
acquainted  with  them.1  .  .  . 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  September  2ist,  1790. 


DEAR  SIR  : 


There  are  not  in  the  profession  many  gentlemen  inhabit 
ing  this  town  whose  characters  are  remarkably  formidable 
from  their  respectability.  Mr.  Sullivan  does  more  business 
I  suppose  than  any  four  others  put  together.  I  shall  care 
fully  remember  the  cautions  in  one  of  your  letters  respect 
ing  him ;  whatever  other  qualities  he  may  possess,  he  may 
safely  be  taken  as  a  model  for  industry  and  activity.  "I 
believe,"  said  Parson  Clarke  to  [me]  the  other  day  "that 
man  has  not  a  particle  of  indolence  in  his  nature."  He 
treats  me  civilly,  and  it  is  all  I  wish.  I  have  derived  even 
some  instruction  from  his  private  conversation  as  well  as 

1  He  was  now  in  the  family  ot  Dr.  Thomas  Welsh,  to  whom  his  father  wrote 
September  13,  1790,  about  his  prospects  in  life.  Works  of  John  Adams,  IX.  571. 


i79o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  57 

from  his  arguments  at  the  bar,  and  the  other  day  he  gave 
me  a  caution,  which  made  a  singular  impression  upon  my 
mind.  I  was  sitting  next  to  him  within  the  bar  at  Concord. 
He  took  from  his  finger  a  ring,  and  pointed  to  me  the  motto 
engraved  within  the  rim.  It  was  "Weigh  the  Consequences." 
Fas  est  et  ab  hoste  doceri.  Perhaps  the  benefit  of  the  ad 
monition  may  not  be  lost  in  its  influence  upon  my  conduct 
towards  the  man  himself.  I  have  no  desire  to  render  my 
self  personally  obnoxious  to  him,  and  I  trust  I  shall  always 
disdain  to  court  his  favor. 

Mr.  Tudor  l  is  an  ingenious,  amiable,  indolent  man,  who 
will  always  make  a  respectable  figure  in  society,  but  who 
has  not  activity  or  application  enough  ever  to  arrive  to 
the  foremost  rank  of  eminence  in  his  profession.  Your 
personal  acquaintance  with  him  has  made  his  character 
better  known  to  you  than  it  is  to  me;  my  opinion  of  him 
has  been  formed  from  the  information  of  persons  more 
conversant  with  him,  and  confirmed  in  some  measure  by 
my  own  observation. 

Mr.  Dawes,2  in  addition  to  a  similar  indolence  of  dis 
position,  labors  under  the  disadvantage  of  ill  health  ;  he 
is  supported  by  a  very  considerable  weight  of  paternal 
influence,  but  his  exertion  has  been  blunted  by  the  expec 
tation  of  a  large  patrimonial  property  —  he  married  too 
young.  To  avoid  an  early  matrimonial  connection,  was 
one  of  the  principles  which  I  think  I  have  heard  you  say 
was  recommended  to  you  by  Mr.  Gridley.3  Happiness  in 
life  I  am  fully  persuaded  must  be  derived  principally  form 
domestic  attachments  ;  but  a  foundation  must  be  laid  before 

1  William  Tudor  (1750-1819),  who  had  studied  law  in  the  office  of  John  Adams. 
A  sketch  of  his  career  is  in  2  Mass.  Hist.  Collections,  VIII.  285. 

2  Thomas  Dawes,  Jun.  (1758-1825). 

3  Jeremiah  Gridley. 


58  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

the  superstructure  can  be  erected.  I  hope  I  am  in  no 
danger  from  this  quarter. 

Mr.  Gore  is  one  of  those  men  whom  Cardinal  Richelieu 
would  have  employed  in  public  affairs.1  He  is  a  very  for 
tunate  man.  In  his  profession  he  has  been  remarkably 
successful ;  from  a  combination  of  circumstances,  which  a 
man  of  inferior  abilities  to  those  he  possesses  might  per 
haps  have  improved  as  well.  The  family  connections  have 
likewise  been  extremely  serviceable  to  him ;  and  it  is  said 
that  he  has  made  an  independent  fortune  by  speculation  in 
the  public  funds.  I  have  heard  it  asserted  that  he  is  the 
richest  lawyer  in  the  Commonwealth. 

Mr.  Amory  has  also  been  successfully  engaged  in  specu 
lating  upon  public  securities,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wetmore  2  and 
Mr.  Otis.3  This  employment  does  not  appear  to  be  very 
intimately  connected  with  the  profession.  But  these  gentle 
men  I  am  told  have  played  at  that  hazardous  game  with 
monies  deposited  in  their  hands ;  and  have  been  enabled 
by  the  temporary  possession  of  property  belonging  to  for 
eigners,  to  become  masters  of  sums  to  an  equal  amount 
before  they  have  been  called  upon  for  payment.  Amory  is 
very  attentive  to  his  business,  and  has  recommended  him 
self  by  the  expedition  with  which  he  performs  that  which 
is  entrusted  to  him.  He  is  a  student  too ;  but  I  think 
confines  his  researches  rather  too  much  within  the  circle 
of  mere  professional  information. 

Otis  appears  to  me  to  be  advancing  very  rapidly  to  emi 
nence.  There  is  certainly  no  man  in  the  town  of  the  pro 
fession  who  unites  so  many  of  those  qualities  which  are 
calculated  to  attract  the  popular  attention.  He  has  been 
but  four  years  at  the  bar,  yet  excepting  Sullivan,  I  believe 

1  Christopher  Gore  (1758-1827).  2  William  Wetmore  (1749-1830). 

3  Harrison  Gray  Otis  (1765-1848). 


i79o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  59 

there  is  no  one  here  who  has  a  greater  proportion  of  busi 
ness.  But  his  ambition  has  no  limits,  and  I  strongly  suspect 
that  the  honors  of  a  public  station  have  such  allurements 
to  his  mind  that  he  will  catch  with  ardor  at  the  first  oppor 
tunity  to  become  a  public  man.  Such  an  opportunity  will 
perhaps  be  presented  to  him  before  long,  and  if  he  should 
once  get  entangled  in  the  political  web,  it  may  be  presumed 
he  will  like  most  others  find  it  inextricable.  These  are  the 
persons  who  share  among  themselves  the  principal  business 
which  is  done  in  this  town.  Mr.  Lowell  has  a  son,  who 
was  just  sworn  into  court  at  the  time  of  his  appointment, 
and  to  whom  he  has  conveniently  left  all  his  unfinished 
business.1  The  young  gentleman  has  talents,  activity  and 
application,  with  a  great  degree  of  confidence  in  himself; 
a  quality  which  is  not  amiable,  but  which  perhaps  is  very 
serviceable  to  him,  in  helping  him  forward.  His  peculiar 
advantages  have  given  him  an  unusual  share  of  business, 
for  a  person  so  lately  admitted.  He  is  rather  disposed  to 
attribute  the  circumstance  to  his  superior  abilities ;  and 
expresses  some  contempt  for  persons  less  successful  than 
himself,  because  depending  solely  upon  their  own  charac 
ters.  .  .  . 

TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  October  lyth,  1790. 
MY  DEAR  MADAM  : 

You  will  perceive  by  our  papers  that  four  members  of 
our   present   delegation    in    Congress   are  reflected.2      It    is 

1  John  Lowell  (1743-1802)  and  his  son  of  the  same  name  (1769-1840). 

2  Fisher  Ames,  Theodore  Sedgwick,  Elbridge  Gerry,  and  Benjamin  Goodhue. 
"Ames' election  in  Boston  was  the  highest  possible  evidence  that  cou'd  be  produc'd 
in  favor  of  the  Government.     Austin  and  his  friends,  with  S.  Adams,  Hancock  and 
Jarvis  were  open,  warm  and  assiduous  in  favor  of  their  candidate.     Their  argu- 


60  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

not  from  the  partly  malevolence  of  a  few  contemptible 
scribblers  in  our  newspapers  that  the  sense  of  the  people 
is  to  be  collected.  Two  candidates  had  been  opposed  to 
Mr.  Ames,1  with  the  intention  to  divide  the  votes  more 
effectually,  and  so  much  industry  and  influence  were  exerted 
in  their  favor,  that  the  result  in  his  favor  was  beyond  the 
most  sanguine  expectations  of  his  friends,  and  the  friends 
of  the  national  honor.  In  Middlesex,  indeed,  the  votes 
were  more  divided.  Mr.  Gorham  2  is  a  popular  man  and, 
if  the  public  report  be  not  fallacious,  he  has  been  indefati 
gable  for  these  two  years  past  in  the  pursuit  of  this  election. 
Mr.  Gerry,  however,  has  a  respectable  majority  of  votes. 

You  mention  in  one  of  your  letters  that  Mr.  Short 3  is 
commissioned  to  negotiate  the  loan.  I  should  wish  to  know 
where  it  is  expected  he  will  obtain  it.  I  cannot  imagine 
that  the  attempt  will  be  made  in  France,  where  the  nation 
are  so  heavily  laboring  under  the  weight  of  their  own  poverty. 
Holland,  I  presume,  will  be  the  seat  of  the  negotiation. 
And  I  should  be  glad  to  be  informed  what  is  the  opinion 
of  the  V[ice]  President]  with  respect  to  its  success.  I 
think  the  value  of  public  paper  must  depend  considerably 
upon  it. 

ments  were  artfully  addressed  to  the  most  unguarded  parts  of  the  mind  of  a  Boston 
Patriot.  Our  friend  T.  D[awes,  Jun.]  and  his  father  [Thomas  Dawes]  were  uncom 
monly  industrious  in  the  use  of  all  their  influence  to  attain  votes  for  the  little  Judge. 
If  reports  are  true  men  were  hir'd  and  in  daily  pay  of  the  former  to  create  a  favor 
able  influence  in  the  country,  and  personal  solicitations  were  used  by  both.  Indeed 
the  most  ridiculous  and  disgraceful  stories  are  told  of  Thomas ;  and  the  event 
shewed,  in  a  light  truly  mortifying,  the  little  influence  and  small  effects  of  dis 
honorable  means.  Austin  boasts  that  he  had  more  votes  than  Dawes,  and  the  latter 
confesses  himself  mortified  that  he  was  less  successful  than  the  former."  Gore  to 
King,  October  23,  1790.  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  393. 

1  Benjamin  Austin  and  Thomas  Dawes. 

2  Nathaniel  Gorham  ran  against  Gerry. 

3  William  Short,  whom  Adams  later  succeeded  as  minister  to  Holland. 


i79o]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  61 

Our  court  of  Common  Pleas  are  sitting  in  this  town,  and 
I  have  made  my  first  essay  in  addressing  a  jury.  I  wish  I 
could  add  that  I  had  acquitted  myself  to  my  own  satis 
faction.  I  had  very  little  time  for  preparation,  and  did  not 
know  the  existence  of  the  cause  three  hours  before  I  spoke 
to  it.  From  this  circumstance,  and  from  the  novelty  of 
the  situation,  added  to  the  diffidence  I  have  always  felt  of 
my  talent  at  extemporary  speechifying,  I  was  too  much 
agitated  to  be  possessed  of  proper  presence  of  mind.  You 
may  judge  of  the  figure  I  made.1 


DEAR  SIR  : 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  October  19,  1790. 


I  have  attended  Town  meeting,  Sir,  and  it  was  upon  the 
occasion  of  the  choice  of  representative  for  the  district.  I 
was  indeed  not  a  little  diverted  at  the  scene,  and  derived 
I  believe  some  little  instruction  as  well  as  entertainment 
from  it.  Three-fourths  of  the  votes  in  this  town  were  in 
deed  for  Mr.  Ames,  and  this  perhaps  may  enable  you  to 

1  "Upon  my  return  from  Law  Society  this  evening,  I  found  my  father  in  my  room 
with  a  letter  in  his  hand  from  you  to  me.  He  asked  me  to  see  what  you  had  written 
concerning  your  downfall.  Upon  opening  the  letter  I  soon  found  what  he  alluded 
to,  but  could  find  no  marks  of  any  downfall.  That  you  should  have  been  somewhat 
confused  upon  your  first  exertion  was  by  no  means  a  matter  of  astonishment  to 
any  of  us.  The  person  who  is  unintimidated  upon  such  occasions  has  not  the 
common  feelings  of  human  nature.  There  is  a  pride,  a  respect,  required  by  the 
auditors,  which  makes  a  little  confusion  rather  pleasing  than  disagreeable.  I 
think  that  an  harangue  of  fifteen  minutes  is  by  no  means  despicable  for  a  first  essay. 
Your  father  was  quite  consoled  when  he  heard  my  letter,  for  that  written  to  Mamma, 
which  he  had  previously  read,  had  led  him  to  suppose  you  had  failed  and  suffered 
a  ro.v  faucibus  hacsit  in  reality."  Charles  Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  New  York, 
October  21,  1790.  Ms.  "Dr.  Welsh  writes  that  your  diffidence  was  remarked 
and  your  tremor  observed,  when  you  opened  at  the  Bar."  John  Adams  to  John 
Quincy  Adams,  December  17,  1790.  Ms. 


62  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1790 

form  an  opinion  respecting  the  popularity  of  the  general 
government  in  this  State.  Mr.  Gerry  too  is  reelected  in 
the  district  of  Middlesex,  notwithstanding  the  whole  per 
sonal  interest  of  Mr.  Gorham  and  his  friends  was  very 
strenuously  exerted  to  operate  a  change.  There  was  not 
even  the  pretence  of  opposing  a  candidate  to  Mr.  Goodhue, 
and  Mr.  Sedgwick  is  also  rechosen  by  a  surprising  ma 
jority  of  votes  in  his  district.  These  are  premises  from 
which  much  more  accurate  conclusions  may  be  drawn  than 
from  the  senseless  bawlings  of  a  miserable  faction,  and  who 
are  reduced  to  the  last  resource  of  making  up  in  unheeded 
clamor,  their  total  deficiency  of  influence  and  power.  The 
real  fact  is  that  the  new  government  is  very  rapidly  acquir 
ing  a  broad  and  solid  foundation  of  popularity.  It  possesses 
in  my  opinion  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  this  State  to 
a  more  eminent  degree  than  any  other  government  upon 
earth  can  boast  of,  and  it  appears  to  me  to  have  already 
acquired  a  stability  as  astonishing  as  the  revolution  it  has 
produced  in  the  face  of  our  affairs. 

The  effects  of  that  revolution  are  already  felt  in  a  very 
high  degree  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Our  commerce  is 
increasing  and  extending ;  our  manufactures  multiplying 
very  rapidly,  our  agriculture  flourishing;  industry  has 
resumed  the  place  which  it  had  resigned  for  some  time  to 
idleness  and  luxury,  and  is  seldom  without  employ.  I  am 
informed  that  the  mechanics  of  almost  every  description 
in  this  town  are  at  present  more  constantly  busy  than  they 
have  been  at  any  period  since  the  Revolution.  The  popula 
tion  of  the  town  has  increased  from  14,000  to  18,000  in 
habitants  since  the  year  1784,  and  the  property  has  aug 
mented  in  a  much  greater  proportion.  Twelve  hundred 
people  are  employed  by  one  manufacture  which  has  been 
only  three  or  four  years  established;  that  of  wool  cards. 


i79o]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  63 

That  of  sail  cloth,  equally  recent,  gives  bread  to  several 
hundred  more.  Paper  hangings  have  become  even  an 
article  of  exportation  from  hence.  Near  four  hundred  tons 
of  hemp  I  hear  have  been  raised  this  season,  within  the 
state.  This  is  a  new  article  of  cultivation,  and  even  so 
late  as  the  last  year  there  were  not  more  than  thirty  tons 
raised  within  the  Commonwealth.  It  is  found  to  be  a 
very  profitable  article,  and  in  all  probability  in  the  course 
of  two  or  three  years  will  cease  to  be  imported  altogether; 
and  from  a  calculation  which  I  have  seen  we  might  export 
it  and  easily  undersell  the  Russians.  There  is  a  Colonel 
Wood  in  Charlcstown  who  has  raised  more  than  three  tons 
upon  six  acres  of  his  land,  and  the  produce  of  that  small 
field  will  neat  him  300  dollars.  There  is  undoubtedly  a 
connecting  chain,  the  commune  vinculum,  between  all  the 
various  employments  of  mankind  as  well  as  between  the 
liberal  arts  and  sciences.  The  farmer,  the  tradesman,  the 
mechanic  and  the  merchant,  are  all  mutually  so  dependent 
upon  one  another  for  their  prosperity,  that  I  really  know 
not  whether  most  to  pity  the  ignorance  or  to  lament  the 
absurdity  of  the  partial  politicians,  who  are  constantly 
erecting  an  imaginary  wall  of  separation  between  them.1 

The  health  of  the  Governor  has  been  better  for  these 
two  months  than  for  several  years  before.  There  is  I  think 
a  probability  that  he  will  hold  the  chair  of  state  for  many 
years  to  come.  It  will  not  I  presume  be  contested  him; 
and  indeed  the  bitterness  of  parties  has  been  tempered  very 
much  by  the  favorable  alteration  in  the  public  affairs. 
The  public  peace  and  public  prosperity  appear  in  this  in 
stance  to  have  possessed  a  mutual  acting  and  reacting 
power  to  establish  and  confirm  each  other.  .  .  . 

In   the   stagnation   of  our  own   politics   the   people   who 

1  A  reference  to  Thomas  Jefferson  was  probably  intended. 


64  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1790 

have  a  fondness  for  the  subject  turn  their  attention  to 
those  of  Europe,  which  seems  to  be  now  as  much  as  ever 
it  could  be  un  repaire  d'horreurs.  The  war  between  Spain 
and  England  has  been  so  long  suspended  in  the  balance, 
that  we  presume  one  of  the  scales  must  very  soon  prepon 
derate.  The  last  information  we  have  has  a  greater  appear 
ance  of  hostility  than  any  we.  have  hitherto  received.  In 
France  it  appears  to  me  the  National  Assembly  in  tearing 
the  lace  from  the  garb  of  government,  will  tear  the  coat 
itself  into  a  thousand  rags.  That  nation  may  for  ought  I 
know  finally  be  free,  but  I  am  firmly  persuaded  it  will  not  be 
until  they  have  undergone  another  revolution.  A  nobility 
and  a  clergy,  church  and  state  levelled  to  the  ground  in  one 
year's  time  ;  rights  not  inconsistent  with  those  of  man,  estab 
lished  by  a  prescription  uncontrovertible,  if  any  prescription 
can  be  so ;  rights  like  these  blown  to  the  winds  by  the  single 
breath  of  a  triumphant  democracy,  are  inauspicious  omens 
for  the  erection  of  an  equitable  government  of  laws.  By 
the  politeness  of  the  French  consul 1  I  have  perused  several 
volumes  of  their  debates  and  projects  for  constitutions. 
There  are  some  valuable  papers  among  them  ;  but  it  appears 
to  me  that  the  rabble  that  followed  on  the  heels  of  Jack  Cade 
could  not  have  devised  greater  absurdities  than  many  of 
their  propositions  ;  some  of  which  have  been  adopted  by  the 
Assembly.  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  affectionately, 

1  Le  Tombe. 

"  The  felicity  of  the  public  should  always  be  rejoiced  in,  whatever  may  be  our 
private  afflictions  or  misfortunes.  But  you  have  no  reason  whatever  to  com 
plain.  Your  case  is  the  lot  of  every  youth  of  your  profession.  The  world  cannot 
be  forced.  Time  must  be  taken  to  become  known  in  any  situation :  but  your 
sudden  appearance  in  a  city  where  you  had  not  studied,  renders  it  still  more  im 
possible  that  you  should  suddenly  get  in  business."  John  Adams  to  John  Quincy 
Adams,  December  8,  1790.  Ms. 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  65 

LETTERS  OF  PUBLICOLA1 

I2 

MR.  RUSSELL, 

SIR,  The  late  Revolution  in  France  has  opened  an  extensive 
field  of  speculation  to  the  philosopher  and  to  the  politician.  An 
event  so  astonishing  and  unexpected  in  its  nature,  and  so  im- 

1  Painc's  Rights  of  Man,  written  in  reply  to  Burke's  Reflections  on  the  Revolution 
in  France  (1790),  appeared  in  London  early  in  1791,  with  a  dedication  to 
George  Washington.  A  copy  reached  the  hands  of  John  Becklcy,  clerk 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  passing  through  Madison  was  read  by 
JcfTcrson.  From  him  it  reached  the  printer,  with  a  letter  expressing  gratification 
that  it  was  to  be  reprinted,  and  something  said  against  the  political  heresies 
prevajcnt  in  the  United  States.  "I  was  thunderstruck,"  he  wrote  to  Adams  later, 
"with  seeing  it  come  out  at  the  head  of  the  pamphlet.  I  hoped,  however,  it  would 
not  attract  notice."  The  explanation  was  somewhat  lame,  and  naturally  the  replies 
to  Paine  noticed  Jefferson  as  the  sponsor  of  the  pamphlet.  The  pamphlet  appeared 
early  in  May,  and  the  press  at  once  began  to  print  replies,  a  series  in  Fcnno 
Jefferson  believed  to  have  been  written  by  John  Adams.  See  Jefferson  to  Washing 
ton,  May  8,  1791.  Another  series,  signed  "Publicola,"  began  to  appear  in  the 
Columbian  Centinel  of  Boston  in  June,  attracting  wide  notice,  and  being  generally 
copied  in  the  journals  of  the  other  States.  Eleven  of  these  letters  were  printed, 
the  first  on  June  8,  and  the  last  on  July  27,  and  the  subject  as  well  as  the  treatment 
gave  rise  to  suspicion  that  John  Adams  was  the  author. 

"Nobody  doubts  here  who  is  the  author  of  Publicola,  any  more  than  of  Davila," 
wrote  Jefferson  to  Madison,  June  28,  1791.  Nor  would  he  accept  the  disavowal 
of  the  Boston  editor,  that  John  Adams  "has  no  more  concern  in  the  publication 
of  the  writings  of  Publicola  than  the  author  of  the  Rights  of  Man  himself."  If, 
commented  Jefferson,  "the  equivoque  here  were  not  intended,  the  disavowal  is 
not  entirely  credited,  because  not  from  Mr.  Adams  himself,  and  because  the  stile 
and  sentiments  raise  so  strong  a  presumption.  Besides  to  produce  any  effect  he 
must  disavow  Davila  and  the  Defence  of  the  American  Constitutions.  A  host  of 
writers  have  risen  in  favor  of  Paine,  and  prove  that  in  this  quarter  at  least  the  spirit 
of  republicanism  is  sound."  Such  a  suspicion,  when  openly  expressed,  as  it  was 
in  the  press,  directed  attention  to  the  papers,  which  received  greater  notice  than 
their  merits  would  seem  to  call  for.  They  were  widely  copied  by  journals  through 
out  the  United  States,  and  called  out  many  replies,  but  few  arguments.  In  Boston 
"Brutus"  answered  in  the  Columbian  Centinel,  and  "Agricola,"  "A  Republican," 


1  Columbian  Centinel,  June  8,  1791. 


66  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

portant  in  its  consequences,  naturally  arrested  the  peculiar  atten 
tion  of  the  whole  civilized  world.  The  friends  of  liberty  and  of 
man  have  seen  with  pleasure  the  temples  of  despotism  levelled 
with  the  ground,  and  the  Genius  of  Freedom  rising  suddenly  in 
his  collected  and  irresistible  strength,  and  snapping  in  an  instant 
all  the  cords  with  which,  for  centuries,  he  had  been  bound.  Upon 

"The  Ploughman,"  and  "The  Watchman"  in  the  Independent  Chronicle.  The  plane 
on  which  the  discussion  was  conducted  may  be  measured  by  the  charge  against 
Publicola  of  favoring  monarchy  and  aristocracy,  which  formed  the  principal  burden 
of  these  replies. 

Madison  wrote  to  Jefferson,  July  13,  1791 :  "Beckley  .  .  .  says  .  .  .  that  Publi 
cola  is  probably  the  manufacture  of  his  son  out  of  materials  furnished  by  himself 
[John  Adams],  and  that  the  publication  is  generally  as  obnoxious  in  New  England 
as  it  appears  to  be  in  Pennsylvania.  If  young  Adams  be  capable  of  giving  the 
dress  in  which  Publicola  presents  himself,  it  is  very  probable  he  may  have  been  made 
the  editor  of  his  father's  doctrines.  I  hardly  think  the  printer  would  so  directly 
disavow  the  fact  if  Mr.  Adams  was  himself  the  writer.  There  is  more  of  method 
also  in  the  arguments,  and  much  less  of  clumsiness  and  heaviness  in  the  style,  than 
characterize  his  writings.  I  mentioned  to  you  some  time  ago  an  extract  from  a 
piece  in  the  Poughkeepsie  paper  as  a  sensible  comment  on  Mr.  Adams's  doctrines. 
The  whole  has  since  been  republished  here,  and  is  evidently  from  a  better  pen  than 
any  of  the  Anti-publicolas  I  have  seen.  In  Greenleaf's  paper  of  to-day  is  a 
second  letter  from  the  same  quarter,  which  confirms  the  character  I  have  given 
of  the  author."  Writings  of  James  Madison  (Hunt),  VI.  56  n.  An  interchange 
of  letters  on  the  subject  passed  between  John  Adams  and  Jefferson,  but  could  not 
entirely  do  away  with  a  feeling  on  either  side,  that  the  publication  marked  a  hostile 
divergence  of  political  beliefs  and  a  personal  participation  in  furthering  newspaper 
criticisms.  Adams  held  Jefferson  to  be  partly  responsible  for  the  publication  of 
Paine's  pamphlet,  and  Jefferson  believed  that  the  publication  would  have  proved 
harmless  had  not  Publicola  raised  such  an  outcry  against  it.  See  Works  of  John 
Adams,  VIII.  504-511;  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson  (Ford),  V.  328;  Writings 
of  George  Washington  (Ford),  XII.  37  n.  The  letters  were  reissued  in  London: 
An/Answer/to/Paine's  Rights  of  Man. /By/John  Adams,  Esq./.  .  .  London:/ 
Printed  for  John  Stockdale,/i793.  Also  in  Edinburgh,  as  "  Observations  on  Paine's 
'  Rights  of  Man,'  "  179-.  Extracts  were  read  by  Sir  Archibald  Macdonald,  the 
King's  Attorney-General,  in  the  trial  of  Thomas  Paine  in  1792. 

Writing  nearly  two  years  later,  his  father  said,  "Poor  Jay  has  gone  through  as 
fiery  an  ordeal  as  I  did,  when  I  was  suspected  of  a  blasphemous  doubt  of  Tom 
Paine's  infallibility,  in  consequence  of  Publicola's  eloquence  and  Jefferson's  rash 
ness."  To  John  Quincy  Adams,  August  25,  1795.  Ms. 


i79il  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  67 

the  downfall  of  the  arbitrary  system  of  government  in  France, 
there  appears  to  have  been  but  one  sentiment,  and  that  senti 
ment  of  exultation ;  but  while  the  friends  of  humanity  have 
rejoiced  at  the  emancipation  of  so  many  millions  of  their  fellow 
creatures,  they  have  waited  with  anxious  expectation  to  see  upon 
what  foundations  they  would  attempt  to  establish  their  newly- 
acquired  liberty.  The  proceedings  of  their  Representative  As 
sembly  have  been  contemplated  in  very  different  points  of  view, 
by  men  of  names  equally  illustrious,  and  of  characters  equally 
favourable  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  Among  the  publications 
which  have  appeared  upon  the  subject,  two  pamphlets,  founded 
upon  very  different  principles,  appear  to  have  been  received  with 
the  greatest  avidity,  and  seem  calculated  to  leave  the  deepest 
impression.  The  one  written  by  Mr.  Burke,  which  is  one  con 
tinued  invective  upon  almost  all  the  proceedings  of  the  National 
Assembly  since  the  Revolution,  and  which  passes  a  severe  and 
indiscriminating  censure  upon  almost  all  their  transactions  :  The 
other  the  production  of  Mr.  Paine,  containing  a  defence  of  the 
Assembly,  and  approving  every  thing  they  have  done,  with  ap 
plause  as  undistinguishing  as  is  the  censure  of  Mr.  Burke.  \Ve 
are  told,  that  the  copy  from  which  an  edition  of  this  work  was 
reprinted  at  Philadelphia,  was  furnished  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  was  accompanied  by  a  letter,  from  which  the  follow 
ing  extract  has  been  published  in  most  of  our  newspapers.  "I 
am  extremely  pleased  to  find  that  it  is  to  be  re-printed  here,  and 
that  something  is  at  length  to  be  publicly  said,  against  the  politi 
cal  heresies  which  have  sprung  up  among  us.  I  have  no  doubt 
our  citizens  will  rally  a  second  time  round  the  standard  of  Com 
mon  Sense." 

I  confess,  Sir,  I  am  somewhat  at  a  loss  to  determine,  what  this 
very  respectable  gentleman  means  by  political  heresies.  Does  he 
consider  this  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Paine's  as  the  canonical  book  of 
political  scripture  ?  As  containing  the  true  doctrine  of  popular 
infallibility,  from  which  it  would  be  heretical  to  depart  in  one 
single  point  ?  The  expressions,  indeed,  imply  more ;  they  seem, 


68  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

like  the  Arabian  prophet,  to  call  upon  all  true  believers  in  the 
Islam  of  democracy,  to  draw  their  swords,  and,  in  the  fervour  of 
their  devotion,  to  compel  all  their  countrymen  to  cry  out,  "There 
is  but  one  Goddess  of  Liberty,  and  Common  Sense  is  her  prophet." 

I  have  always  understood,  Sir,  that  the  citizens  of  these  States 
were  possessed  of  a  full  and  entire  freedom  of  opinion  upon  all 
subjects,  civil  as  well  as  religious ;  they  have  not  yet  established 
any  infallible  criterion  of  orthodoxy,  either  in  church  or  state : 
their  principles  in  theory,  and  their  habits  in  practice,  are  equally 
averse  to  that  slavery  of  the  mind,  which  adopts,  without  examina 
tion,  any  sentiment  that  has  the  sanction  of  a  venerable  name. 
Nullius  in  verba  jurare  magistri  is  their  favorite  maxime ;  and  the 
only  political  tenet  which  they  would  stigmatize  with  the  name 
of  heresy,  would  be  that  which  should  attempt  to  impose  an 
opinion  upon  their  understandings  upon  the  single  principle  of 
authority. 

I  believe,  also,  Sir,  that  the  citizens  of  America  are  not  at 
present  disposed  to  rally  round  the  standard  of  any  man.  In 
the  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  the  freedom,  for  which 
they  have  gone  through  so  arduous  a  conflict,  they  will  not,  for 
the  poor  purpose  of  extinguishing  a  few  supposed  political  heresies, 
return  to  the  horrors  of  a  civil  contest,  from  which  they  could 
reap  no  possible  benefit,  and  which  would  probably  terminate  in 
the  loss  of  that  liberty  for  which  they  have  been  so  liberal  of  their 
treasure  and  of  their  blood. 

If,  however,  Mr.  Paine  is  to  be  adopted  as  the  holy  father  of 
our  political  faith,  and  this  pamphlet  is  to  be  considered  as  his 
Papal  Bull  of  infallible  virtue,  let  us  at  least  examine  what  it 
contains.  Before  we  determine  to  join  the  standard,  let  us  in 
quire  what  are  the  articles  of  war  to  which  our  General  requires 
our  submission.  It  is  the  glorious  characteristic  of  truth,  at  once 
to  invite  and  bid  defiance  to  investigation.  If  any  opinions 
which  have  sprung  up  among  us  have  really  led  us  astray  from 
the  standard  of  truth,  let  us  return  to  it,  at  the  call  of  Mr.  Paine, 
or  of  any  other  man  who  can  show  us  our  errors.  But,  Sir,  if 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  69 

upon  examination,  even  this  testament  of  orthodoxy  shall  be 
found  to  contain  many  spurious  texts,  false  in  their  principles 
and  delusive  in  their  inferences,  we  may  be  permitted,  notwith 
standing  our  reverence  for  the  author,  at  least  to  expunge  the 
apocryphal  doctrine,  and  to  confine  our  faith  to  the  genuine 
tenets  of  real  political  inspiration.  It  is  my  intention  to  submit 
to  the  public  a  few  observations,  which  have  occurred  to  me 
upon  the  perusal  of  this  pamphlet,  which  has  so  clear  and  valid 
a  title  to  the  public  attention.  But  I  must  here  observe,  that  I 
wish  to  avoid  every  appearance  of  disrespect,  either  to  the  real 
parent  of  this  production,  or  to  the  gentleman  who  has  stood  its 
sponsor  in  this  country.  Both  these  gentlemen  are  entitled  to 
the  gratitude  of  their  countrymen;  the  latter  still  renders  impor 
tant  services  in  a  very  dignified  station.  He  is  a  friend  to  free 
inquiry  upon  every  subject,  and  he  will  not  be  displeased  to  see 
the  sentiments  which  he  has  made  his  own  by  a  public  adoption, 
canvassed  with  as  much  freedom  as  is  consistent  with  the  rever 
ence  due  to  his  character. 

II1 

SIR,  In  that  part  of  Mr.  Paine's  pamphlet  which  he  has  chosen 
to  call  the  miscellaneous  chapter,  he  observes  that,  "when  a  man 
in  a  long  course  attempts  to  steer  his  course  by  any  thing  else 
than  some  polar  truth  or  principle,  he  is  sure  to  be  lost."  I  have 
sought  for  the  polar  principle  to  which  his  exertions  were  directed 
in  this  publication,  and  I  must  acknowledge  I  have  sought  in 
vain.  His  production  is  historical,  political,  miscellaneous,  satiri 
cal,  and  panegyrical.  It  is  an  encomium  upon  the  National 
Assembly  of  France.  It  is  a  commentary  upon  the  rights  of 
man,  inferring  questionable  deductions  from  unquestionable  prin 
ciples.  It  is  a  severe  satire  upon  Mr.  Burke  and  his  pamphlet 
upon  the  English  Government,  upon  Kings,  upon  Nobility,  and 
Aristocracy;  it  is  a  narrative  of  several  occurrences,  connected 
with  the  French  Revolution,  and  it  concludes  with  a  kind  of 
1  Columbian  Cfntinfl,  June  II,  1791. 


70  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

prophetical  impulse,  in  the  expectation  of  an  "European  Congress 
to  patronize  the  progress  of  free  government,  and  promote  the  civili 
zation  of  nations  with  each  other"  The  object  which  he  promised 
to  himself,  in  this  publication,  is  not  so  dubious  as  the  principle 
on  which  he  wrote.  His  intention  appears  evidently  to  be,  to 
convince  the  people  of  Great  Britain  that  they  have  neither 
Liberty  nor  a  Constitution  —  that  their  only  possible  means  to 
produce  these  blessings  to  themselves,  is  to  "topple  down  head 
long"  their  present  government,  and  follow  implicitly  the  example 
of  the  French.  As  to  the  right,  he  scruples  not  to  say,  "that 
which  a  whole  nation  chuses  to  do,  it  has  a  right  to  do."  This 
proposition  is  a  part  of  what  Mr.  Paine  calls  a  system  of  prin 
ciples  in  opposition  to  those  of  Mr.  Burke,  and  it  is  laid  down 
without  any  sort  of  qualification.  It  is  not  my  intention  to 
defend  the  principles  of  Mr.  Burke ;  truth  is  the  only  object  of 
my  pursuit,  and  I  shall  without  hesitation  refuse  my  assent  to 
every  principle  inconsistent  with  that,  whether  it  proceeds  from 
Mr.  Burke,  Mr.  Paine,  or  even  from  the  illustrious  National 
Assembly  of  France.  This  principle,  that  a  whole  nation  has  a 
right  to  do  whatever  it  pleases,  cannot  in  any  sense  whatever  be 
admitted  as  true.  The  eternal  and  immutable  laws  of  justice  and 
of  morality  are  paramount  to  all  human  legislation.  The  viola 
tion  of  those  laws  is  certainly  within  the  power,  but  it  is  not  among 
the  rights  of  nations.  The  power  of  a  nation  is  the  collected 
power  of  all  the  individuals  which  compose  it.  The  rights  of  a 
nation  are  in  like  manner  the  collected  rights  of  its  individuals  ; 
and  it  must  follow  from  thence,  that  the  powers  of  a  nation  are 
more  extensive  than  its  rights,  in  the  very  same  proportion  with 
those  of  individuals.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that,  in  speak 
ing  of  the  exercise  of  the  particular  right  of  forming  a  Constitu 
tion,  Mr.  Paine  himself  denies  to  a  nation  that  omnipotence  which 
he  had  before  so  liberally  bestowed.  For  this  same  nation,  which 
has  a  right  to  do  whatever  it  pleases,  has  no  right  to  establish  a 
Government  in  hereditary  succession.  It  is  of  infinite  consequence, 
that  the  distinction  between  power  and  right  should  be  fully 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  71 

acknowledged,  and  admitted  as  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  Legislators.  A  whole  nation,  such  as  France,  England,  or 
America,  can  act  only  by  representation  ;  and  the  acts  of  the  rep 
resentative  body  must  be  considered  as  the  acts  of  the  nation. 
We  must  go  farther,  and  say,  that  the  acts  of  the  majority  in  the 
Representative  Assembly  are  the  acts  of  the  whole  body,  and 
consequently  of  the  whole  nation.  If,  therefore,  a  majority  thus 
constituted  are  bound  by  no  law  human  or  divine,  and  have  no 
other  rule  but  their  sovereign  will  and  pleasure  to  direct  them, 
what  possible  security  can  any  citizen  of  the  nation  have  for  the 
protection  of  his  unalienable  rights  ?  The  principles  of  liberty 
must  still  be  the  sport  of  arbitrary  power,  and  the  hideous  form 
of  despotism  must  lay  aside  the  diadem  and  the  scepter,  only  to 
assume  the  party-colored  garments  of  democracy. 

The  system  of  principles  upon  which  Mr.  Paine  advances 
this  assertion  is  intended  to  prove,  that  the  English  nation  have 
a  right  to  destroy  their  present  form  of  Government,  and  to  erect 
another.  I  am  not  disposed  to  deny  this  right,  nor  is  it  at  present 
necessary  to  examine  whether  Mr.  Burke's  opinions  upon  this 
subject  are  not  directed  rather  against  the  expediency  than  the 
abstracted  rights  of  such  a  measure.  It  may,  however,  not  be 
improper  to  trace  the  origin  of  Mr.  Paine's  arguments  against  the 
principles  maintained  by  Mr.  Burke.  Doctor  Price  has  asserted, 
that  by  "the  principles  of  the  Revolution  in  1688  the  people  of 
England  had  acquired  the  right,  I.  To  choose  their  own  Gov 
ernors.  2.  To  cashier  them  for  misconduct ;  and,  3.  To  frame  a 
Government  for  themselves.'*  Mr.  Burke  endeavors  to  prove 
that  the  principles  of  the  Revolution  in  1688,  so  far  from  war 
ranting  any  right  of  this  kind,  support  a  doctrine  almost  dia 
metrically  opposite.  Mr.  Paine,  in  reply,  cuts  the  Gordian  knot 
at  once,  declares  the  Parliament  of  1688  to  have  been  downright 
usurpers,  censures  them  for  having  unwisely  sent  to  Holland  for  a 
King,  denies  the  existence  of  a  British  Constitution,  and  invites 
the  people  of  England  to  overturn  their  present  Government,  and 
to  erect  another  upon  the  broad  basis  of  national  sovereignty, 


72  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

and  government  by  representation.  As  Mr.  Paine  has  departed 
altogether  from  the  principles  of  the  Revolution,  and  has  torn 
up  by  the  roots  all  reasoning  from  the  British  Constitution,  by 
the  denial  of  its  existence,  it  becomes  necessary  to  examine  his 
works  upon  the  grounds  which  he  has  chosen  to  assume.  If  we 
judge  of  the  production  from  its  apparent  tendency,  we  may  call 
it  an  address  to  the  English  nation,  attempting  to  prove  that  they 
have  a  right  to  form  a  new  Constitution,  that  it  is  expedient  for 
them  immediately  to  exercise  that  right,  and  that,  in  the  forma 
tion  of  this  Constitution,  they  can  do  no  better  than  to  imitate 
the  model  set  before  them  by  the  French  National  Assembly. 
However  immethodical  his  production  is,  I  believe  the  whole  of 
its  argumentative  part  may  be  referred  to  these  three  points.  If 
the  subject  were  to  affect  only  the  British  nation,  we  might  leave 
them  to  reason  and  act  for  themselves ;  but,  Sir,  these  are  con 
cerns  equally  important  to  all  mankind ;  and  the  citizens  of 
America  are  called  upon  from  high  authority  to  rally  round  the 
standard  of  this  champion  of  Revolutions.  I  shall  therefore  now 
proceed  to  examine  the  reasons  upon  which  he  founds  his  opinions 
relative  to  each  of  these  points. 

The  people  of  England  have,  in  common  with  other  nations,  a 
natural  and  unalienable  right  to  form  a  Constitution  of  Govern 
ment,  not  because  a  whole  nation  has  a  right  to  do  whatever  it 
chooses  to  do,  but  because  Government  being  instituted  for  the 
common  security  of  the  natural  rights  of  every  individual,  it 
must  be  liable  to  alterations  whenever  it  becomes  incompetent 
for  that  purpose.  The  right  of  a  people  to  legislate  for  succeed 
ing  generations  derives  all  its  authority  from  the  consent  of  that 
posterity  who  are  bound  by  their  laws ;  and  therefore  the  expres 
sions  of  perpetuity  used  by  the  Parliament  of  1688,  contain  no 
absurdity;  and  expressions  of  a  similar  nature  may  be  found  in 
all  the  Constitutions  of  the  United  States. 

But,  Sir,  when  this  right  is  thus  admitted  in  its  fullest  latitude, 
it  must  also  be  admitted,  that  it  ought  never  to  be  exercised  but 
in  cases  of  extreme  urgency :  Every  nation  has  a  right  as  unques- 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  73 

tionable  to  dissolve  the  bands  of  civil  society,  by  which  they  are 
united,  and  to  return  to  that  state  of  individual  imbecility  in 
which  man  is  supposed  to  have  existed,  previous  to  the  formation 
of  the  social  compact.  The  people  of  America  have  been  com 
pelled,  by  an  unaccountable  necessity,  distressing  in  its  operation, 
but  glorious  in  its  consequences,  to  exercise  this  right ;  and  when 
ever  a  nation  has  no  other  alternative  but  the  degradation  of 
slavery,  or  the  formidable  conflict  of  a  Revolution,  the  generous 
spirit  of  freedom  will  not  hesitate  a  moment  in  the  choice.  Whether 
the  people  of  France  were,  at  the  period  of  their  Revolution,  re 
duced  to  that  unhappy  situation,  which  rendered  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  overthrow  their  whole  system  to  its  foundation,  is  a 
question  upon  which  the  ablest  patriots  among  themselves  have 
differed,  and  upon  which  we  are  inadequate  to  decide.  Whether 
the  people  of  England  are  now  in  that  calamitous  predicament  ? 
is  a  question  more  proper  for  our  discussion,  and  upon  which  I 
shall  take  the  liberty  to  examine  the  reasoning  of  Mr.  Paine. 

Ill1 

SIR,  In  examining  the  question,  whether  the  English  nation 
have  a  right,  fundamentally  to  demolish  their  present  form  of 
government  ?  it  becomes  necessary  to  inquire  whether  Mr.  Paine's 
assertion  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an  English  Constitution, 
be  really  true  ?  This  question  may,  perhaps,  in  some  measure 
affect  the  people  of  America.  For  if  the  government  of  Great 
Britain  is  an  usurpation,  it  may  be  worthy  of  consideration  how 
far  we  are  bound  by  treaties,  which  do  not  reciprocally  bind  the 
inhabitants  of  that  island. 

"A  Constitution,"  says  Mr.  Paine,  "is  not  a  thing  in  name 
only  but  in  fact.  It  has  not  an  ideal,  but  a  real  existence;  and 
wherever  it  cannot  be  produced  in  a  visible  form,  there  is  none." 
Mr.  Paine  should  have  gone  farther,  and  told  us,  whether,  like 
a  deed,  it  must  be  written  on  paper  or  parchment,  or  whether  it 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  June  15,  1791. 


74  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

has  a  larger  latitude,  and  may  be  engraved  on  stone,  or  carved 
in  wood  ?  From  the  tenor  of  his  argument  it  should  seem,  that 
he  had  only  the  American  Constitutions  in  his  mind,  for  excepting 
them,  I  believe  he  would  not  find  in  all  history,  a  government 
which  will  come  within  his  definition ;  and  of  course,  there  never 
was  a  people  that  had  a  Constitution,  previous  to  the  year  1776. 
But  the  word  with  an  idea  affixed  to  it,  had  been  in  use,  and  com 
monly  understood,  for  centuries  before  that  period,  and  therefore 
Mr.  Paine  must,  to  suit  his  purpose,  alter  its  acceptations,  and  in 
the  warmth  of  his  zeal  for  Revolutions,  endeavor  to  bring  about 
a  revolution  in  language  also.  When  all  the  most  illustrious 
Whig  writers  in  England  have  contended  for  the  liberty  of  their 
country  upon  the  principles  of  the  English  Constitution;  when 
the  glorious  Congress  of  1774  declared,  that  "the  inhabitants  of 
the  English  Colonies  in  North  America  were  entitled  to  certain 
rights  by  the  immutable  laws  of  nature,  the  principles  of  the  English 
Constitution,  and  the  several  charters  or  compacts,"  they  knew 
very  well  what  they  meant,  and  were  perfectly  understood  by  all 
mankind.  Mr.  Paine  says,  that  "a  Constitution  is  to  a  Govern 
ment,  what  the  laws,  made  afterwards  by  that  Government,  are 
to  a  court  of  judicature."  But  when  the  American  States,  by 
their  Constitutions,  expressly  adopted  the  whole  body  of  the 
common  law,  so  far  as  it  was  applicable  to  their  respective  situa 
tions,  did  they  adopt  nothing  at  all,  because  that  law  cannot  be 
produced  in  a  visible  form  ?  No,  Sir,  the  Constitution  of  a  coun 
try  is  not  the  paper  or  parchment  upon  which  the  compact  is 
written,  it  is  the  system  of  fundamental  laws,  by  which  the  people 
have  consented  to  be  governed,  which  is  always  supposed  to  be 
impressed  upon  the  mind  of  every  individual,  and  of  which  the 
written  or  printed  copies  are  nothing  more  than  the  evidence. 

In  this  sense,  Sir,  the  British  nation  have  a  Constitution,  which 
was  for  many  years  the  admiration  of  the  world ;  the  people  of 
America,  with  very  good  reason,  have  renounced  some  of  its 
defects  and  infirmities.  But  in  defence  of  some  of  its  principles, 
they  have  fought  and  conquered.  It  is  composed  of  a  venerable 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  75 

system  of  unwritten  or  customary  laws,  handed  down  from  time 
immemorial,  and  sanctioned  by  the  accumulated  experience  of 
ages ;  and  of  a  body  of  statutes  enacted  by  an  authority  lawfully 
competent  to  that  purpose.  Mr.  Paine  is  certainly  mistaken, 
when  he  considers  the  British  government  as  having  originated  in 
the  conquest  of  William  of  Normandy.  This  principle  of  being 
governed  by  an  oral  or  traditionary  law,  prevailed  in  England 
eleven  hundred  years  before  that  invasion.  It  has  continued  to 
this  day,  and  has  been  adopted  by  all  the  American  States.  I 
hope  they  will  never  abolish  a  system  so  excellent,  merely  because 
it  cannot  be  produced  in  a  visible  form.  The  Constitution  of 
Great  Britain  is  a  Constitution  of  principles,  not  of  articles,  and 
however  frequently  it  may  have  been  violated  by  tyrants,  mo 
narchical,  aristocratical,  or  democratical,  the  people  have  always 
found  it  expedient  to  restore  the  original  foundation,  while  from 
time  to  time  they  have  been  successful  in  improving  and  orna 
menting  the  building. 

The  people  of  England  are  bound  therefore  by  a  social  compact 
now  existing;  and  they  have  no  right  to  demolish  their  Govern 
ment,  unless  it  be  clearly  incompetent  for  the  purposes  for  which 
it  was  instituted.  They  have  delegated  their  whole  collective 
power  to  a  Legislature,  consisting  of  a  King,  Lords,  and  Commons, 
and  they  have  included  even  the  power  of  altering  the  Constitu 
tion  itself.  Should  they  abuse  this  power  so  that  the  nation 
itself  should  be  oppressed,  and  their  rights  to  life,  liberty  and 
property,  instead  of  protection,  should  meet  with  tyranny,  the 
people  would  certainly  be  entitled  to  appeal  in  the  last  resort  to 
themselves,  to  resume  the  trust  which  has  been  so  unworthily 
betrayed,  and  (not  to  do  whatever  they  should  choose,  but)  to 
form  another  Constitution,  which  should  more  permanently 
secure  the  natural  rights  of  the  whole  community.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  National  Assembly  of  France,  who,  according 
to  Mr.  Paine's  idea,  are  possessed  of  the  whole  collective  power 
of  the  nation,  and  who  seem,  like  him,  to  think  they  have  a  right 
to  do  whatever  they  choose.  Mr.  Paine  says  that  "the  authority 


76  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

of  the  present  Assembly  is  different  to  what  the  authority  of  future 
Assemblies  will  be."  But  if  the  present  Assembly  should  decree 
that  all  future  National  Assemblies  should  possess  the  same  power 
with  themselves,  it  would  certainly  be  binding  as  an  article  of 
the  Constitution.  Mr.  Paine,  indeed,  will  not  acknowledge  this, 
and  it  is  the  second  right  which  he  denies  his  nation,  which  at  the 
same  time  has  a  right  to  do  every  thing.  Mr.  Paine's  ideas  upon 
this  subject  appear  to  have  been  formed  by  a  partial  adoption  of 
the  principle  upon  which  Rousseau  founds  the  social  compact. 
But  neither  the  principle  of  Rousseau,  nor  that  of  Mr.  Paine,  is 
true.  Rousseau  contends  that  the  social  compact  is  formed  by  a 
personal  association  of  individuals,  which  must  be  unanimously 
assented  to,  and  which  cannot  possibly  be  made  by  a  representa 
tive  body.  I  shall  not  at  present  spend  my  time  in  showing  that 
this  is  neither  practicable  nor  even  metaphysically  true.  I  shall 
only  observe,  that  its  operation  would  annihilate  in  an  instant, 
all  the  power  of  the  National  Assembly,  and  turn  the  whole  body 
of  the  American  Constitutions,  the  pride  of  man,  the  glory  of  the 
human  understanding,  into  a  mass  of  tyrannical  and  unfounded 
usurpations.  Mr.  Paine  does  not  go  quite  so  far,  but  we  must 
examine  whether  his  arguments  are  not  equally  wide  from  the 
truth.  "A  Government,"  says  he,  "on  the  principles  on  which 
constitutional  Governments  arising  out  of  society  are  established, 
cannot  have  the  right  of  altering  itself.  Why  not  ?  Because  if  it 
had,  it  would  be  arbitrary."  But  this  reason  is  not  sufficient.  A 
nation  in  forming  a  social  compact  may  delegate  the  whole  of 
their  collective  powers  to  ordinary  legislatures,  in  perpetual  suc 
cession,  and  reserve  only  the  right  of  refusing  the  abuse  of  those 
powers ;  and  every  other  question  relative  to  the  reservation  of 
powers  to  the  nation,  must  be  only  a  question  of  expediency. 
The  same  power  which  the  present  National  Assembly  possess  in 
France,  is,  by  the  English  Constitution,  constantly  vested  in  the 
King  and  Parliament  of  Great  Britain ;  and  the  people  in  both 
kingdoms  have  the  same  right  to  resist  and  punish  the  abuse  of 
that  power. 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  77 

Surely,  Sir,  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  a  Constitu 
tion,  although  they  have  given  the  power  of  making  alterations 
to  those  by  whom  it  is  administered,  in  conjunction  with  the 
State  Legislatures.  Surely,  the  people  of  Massachusetts  have  a 
Constitution,  though  it  provides  for  certain  alterations  by  the 
ordinary  Legislatures,  and  though,  since  it  was  formed,  such 
alterations  have  accordingly  been  made.  The  Constitutions  of 
several  of  the  United  States  are  expressly  made  alterable  in  every 
part  by  their  ordinary  Legislatures.  I  think  there  is  not  one  of 
them  but  admits  of  alterations  without  recurring  to  "the  nation 
in  its  original  character."  Yet  Mr.  Paine  will  surely  acknowledge, 
that  the  American  Constitutions  arose  out  of  the  people,  and  not 
over  them.  His  principle,  therefore,  "that  a  Constitutional 
Government  cannot  have  the  right  of  altering  itself,"  is  not  true. 
In  forming  their  Constitution,  a  nation  may  reserve  to  themselves 
such  powers  as  they  may  think  proper.  They  may  reserve  only 
the  unalienable  right  of  resistance  against  tyranny.  The  people 
of  England  have  reserved  only  this  right.  The  French  National 
Assembly  have  been  in  session  more  than  two  years  to  make  laws 
nominally  paramount  to  their  future  Legislatures.  I  shall  hazard 
some  observations  upon  this  subject,  when  I  attempt  to  follow 
Mr.  Paine  through  his  comparison  between  the  French  and  Eng 
lish  Constitutions.  But  as  the  English  have  delegated  all  their 
power,  I  contend  they  have  no  right  in  their  original  character 
to  change  their  form  of  Government,  unless  it  has  become  incom 
petent  for  the  purposes  for  which  all  Governments  are  instituted. 
I  am  aware  of  the  question  which  will  occur  here.  Who  is  to 
judge  of  this  incompetency  ?  and  I  am  aware  of  the  triumphant 
manner  in  which  it  may  be  asked.  But  a  triumph  is  not  my 
object,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  truth  I  shall  venture  in  my  next 
number  to  consider  this  subject. 

IV1 

SIR,  I  have  assumed  for  a  principle,  that  the  English  nation, 
having  delegated  all  their  collective  power,  have  no  right  in  their 
1  Columbian  Centint'l,  June  18,  1791. 


78  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

% 

original  character  to  change  their  form  of  Government,  unless  it 
has  become  absolutely  inadequate  to  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  instituted.     The  people  themselves  must,  from  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  be  the  judges  of  this  fact ;  but  if,  in  forming  this  judg 
ment,  and  acting  in  pursuance  of  it,  they  proceed  from  passion, 
and  not  from  principle ;    if  they  dissolve  their  compact,  from  an 
idea  that  "they  have  a  right  to  do  whatever  they  choose,"  and 
break  the  bands  of  society,  in  the  forms  of  despotism,  "because 
such  is  their  pleasure,"  they  may  indeed  go  through  the  operation 
by  the  plenitude  of  their  irresistible  power ;    but  the  nation  will 
meet  with  ample  punishment  in  their  own  misery,  and  the  leaders 
who  delude  them,  in  the  detestation  of  their  own  posterity.     It  is 
not  by  adopting  the  malignity  of  a  political  satyrist,  by  convert 
ing  the  sallies  of  wit  into  the  maxims  of  truth  or  justice,  or  by 
magnifying  trivial  imperfections  into  capital  crimes,  that  a  nation 
will  be  justified  in  resorting  to  its  original  strength,  to  contend 
against  its  delegated  power.     It  is  not  now  a  mechanical  horror 
against  the  name  of  a  king,  or  of  aristocracy,  nor  a  physical  an 
tipathy  to  the  sound  of  an  extravagant  title,  or  to  the  sight  of  an 
innocent  riband  that  can  authorise  a  people  to  lay  violent  hands 
upon  the   Constitution,   which  protects  their  rights,   and  guards 
their  liberties.     They   must  feel   an   actual   deprivation   of  their 
equal  rights,  and  see  an  actual  impossibility  for  their  restoration 
in  any  other  manner,  before  they  can  have  a  right  to  lay  their 
hands  on  their  swords,  and  appeal  to  Heaven.     These  are  not  the 
principles  of  slavery ;  they   are   the  tenets  of  the  only  genuine 
liberty,  which  consists  in  a  mean  equally  distant  from  the  despo 
tism  of  an  individual,  as  of  a  million.     They  are  sanctioned  by 
our  own  uniform  example,  and  will,  I  trust,  never  be  departed 
from  by  the  most  enlightened,  and  most  virtuous  people  on  the 
globe.     For  sixteen  years  the  people  of  America  endured  a  con 
tinual  succession  of  every  indignity,  which  the  pride  of  dominion, 
the  insolence  of  power,  and  the  rapacity  of  avarice,  could  inflict 
upon  them,  before  they  could  resolve  to  renounce  an  authority 
three  thousand  miles  distant  from  them ;  and  even  then,  they  were 


i7gi]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  79 

so  far  from  thinking  they  had  a  right  to  do  whatever  they  chose, 
that   by    the    very    act   which    renounced    their   connection    with 
Great  Britain  they  exposed  to  the  world  their  own  sufferings,  and 
the  various  acts  of  tyranny  which  had  compelled  them  "to  ac 
quiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounced  the  separation,"   and 
"appealed  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of 
their  intentions."     No,  Sir,  the  venerable  character  who  drew  up 
this  declaration  never  could  believe  that  the  rights  of  a  nation 
have  no  other  limits  than  its  powers.     Since  the  Revolution,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  have  again  been  compelled  to  form 
a  national  Government,  and  in  its  formation  proceeded  in  the  same 
spirit.     The  confederation  was  found  totally  incompetent  for  the 
purposes   for   which    it   was    instituted ;   not    from    abuse    of    the 
delegated   powers,    in   those   by   whom    it   was   administered,    but 
because  scarcely  any  powers  at  all  had  been  given.     The  ineffi 
ciency  of  that  system  had  long  been  fully  demonstrated,  and  had 
reduced  us  to  extreme  distress.     The  States,  united  but  in  name, 
were  upon  the  verge  of  general  bankruptcy.      Their  credit,  sunk 
to  the  lowest  ebb,  was  upon  the  point  of  expiring,  and  their  ex 
hausted  treasury  gave  perpetually   the  lie  to  their  public  faith, 
so  often  and  so  solemnly  pledged.     The  forcible  ties  of  a  common 
interest,  directed  to  one  great  object  during  the  war,  were  greatly 
loosened  by  the  accomplishment  of  that  object,  and  the  seeds  of 
mutual  hostility  were  sown  by  the  partial  commercial  regulations 
of  the  respective  States.     The  revenue  laws  which  had  been  enacted 
in  several  of  the  States  were  not  able  to  support  their  credit,  and 
yet  were  so  unequal  in  their  operation,  that  numerous  bodies  of 
men,  in  more  than  one  of  the  States,  appeared   in  open  rebellion 
against  the  mildest  governments  that  ever  were  instituted.     In 
stead  of  the  glorious  reward  which  the  people  had  expected  for 
their   virtuous    exertions,    internal    discord,    and    infamy  abroad, 
presented  themselves  in  dreary  perspective  before  them.     At  this 
critical  period,  when  the  system  to  be  annihilated  was  an  empty 
name,  and  there  was  only  a  Government  to  be  formed,  the  national 
Constitution     was     presented     to     the     people    of  America    "  in 


8o  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

their  original  character  " ;  and  even  there  its  existence  was  to 
depend  upon  the  assent  of  nine  States,  that  is,  two-thirds  of  the 
people.  Very  fortunately  it  has  at  length  been  freely  adopted 
by  all  the  members  of  the  Union ;  but  the  extreme  difficulty 
which  impeded  the  progress  of  its  adoption,  and  the  various 
amendments,  which,  in  many  of  the  States,  were  in  a  manner 
made  the  condition  of  their  assent,  exhibit  the  fullest  evidence, 
what  a  more  than  Herculean  task  it  is  to  unite  the  opinions  of  a 
free  people,  upon  any  system  of  government  whatever. 

Under  the  sanction  of  such  authority,  I  venture  to  assert  that 
the  people  of  England  have  no  right  to  destroy  their  government, 
unless  in  its  operation  the  rights  of  the  people  are  really  oppressed, 
and  unless  they  have  attempted  in  vain  every  constitutional 
mode  of  obtaining  redress.  These  principles  ought  to  operate 
with  peculiar  force  upon  the  people  of  England,  because,  in  the 
uncertain  and  hazardous  event  of  a  revolution,  they  have  more 
to  lose  and  less  to  gain,  than  any  other  European  nation,  and  be 
cause  whatever  they  may  acquire,  must,  in  all  probability,  be 
purchased  at  the  expense  of  a  civil  war.  When  provision  is  made 
for  the  alteration  of  a  constitution,  otherwise  than  by  the  common 
legislative  power,  it  may  be  done  comparatively  without  difficulty 
or  danger;  but  where  this  power  is  already  delegated,  with  the 
other  powers  of  legislation,  the  people  cannot  use  it  themselves, 
except  in  their  original,  individual  unrepresented  character,  and 
they  cannot  acquire  the  right  to  act  in  that  capacity,  until  the 
power  which  they  have  thus  conveyed  in  trust,  has  been  abdicated 
by  the  extreme  abuses  of  its  administration. 

When  Mr.  Paine  invited  the  people  of  England  to  destroy  their 
present  Government  and  form  another  Constitution,  he  should  have 
given  them  sober  reasoning  and  not  flippant  witticisms.  He 
should  have  explained  to  them  the  nature  of  the  grievances  by 
which  they  are  oppressed,  and  demonstrated  the  impossibility 
of  reforming  the  Government  in  its  present  organization.  He 
should  have  pointed  out  to  them  some  possible  method  for  them 
to  act  in  their  original  character,  without  a  total  dissolution  of 


i7Qi]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  81 

civil  society  among  them ;  he  should  have  proved  what  great 
advantages  they  would  reap  as  a  nation  from  such  a  revolution, 
without  disguising  the  great  dangers  and  formidable  difficulties 
with  which  it  must  be  attended. 

The  principal  and  most  dangerous  abuses  in  the  English  Govern 
ment  arise  less  from  the  defects  inherent  in  the  Constitution,  than 
from  the  state  of  society;  the  universal  venality  and  corruption 
which  pervade  all  classes  of  men  in  that  kingdom,  and  which 
a  change  of  government  could  not  reform.  I  shall  consider  this 
subject  more  largely  hereafter;  but  at  present,  with  respect  to 
the  expediency  of  a  revolution  in  England,  I  must  inquire  how  the 
nation  can  be  brought  to  act  in  their  original  character  ?  Mr. 
Paine,  perhaps,  from  the  delicacy  of  his  situation,  has  said  nothing 
openly  upon  this  very  important  point.  Yet,  in  two  different 
parts  of  his  work,  he  seems  obscurely  to  hint  two  methods  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  object.  When  he  compares  the  situation 
of  the  citizens  of  London  to  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  Paris  just 
before  the  taking  of  the  Bastille,  it  seems  as  if  it  was  with  an  inten 
tion  to  recommend  a  similar  insurrection  for  the  purpose  of  dis 
persing  the  Parliament,  and  expelling  the  King,  which  would 
leave  the  nation  without  any  government  at  all,  and  compel  them 
at  all  events  to  act  in  their  original  character.  When  he  advises 
"  Revolutions  by  accommodation,"  he  must  probably  mean,  that 
a  convention  should  be  called  by  act  of  Parliament  to  regenerate 
their  Constitution.  I  can  not  imagine  any  other  method  of  answer 
ing  his  purpose.  Mr.  Paine  seems  to  think  it  as  easy  for  a  nation 
to  change  its  government,  as  for  a  man  to  change  his  coat;  but  I 
confess,  both  the  modes  of  proceeding  which  he  suggests  appear 
to  me  to  be  liable  to  great  objections. 

V1 

" There  are  in  all  European  countries,"  says  Mr.  Paine,  "a 
large  class  of  people  of  that  description,  which  in  England  are 
called  the  mob."  It  was  by  the  people  of  this  description  that 

1  Columbian  Cfntinfl,  June  22,  1791. 
G 


82  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

the  Bastille  in  Paris  was  destroyed.  In  London  there  is  no 
Bastille  to  demolish ;  but  there  is  a  government  to  overturn ;  and 
there  is  a  King  and  Parliament,  who  must  either  be  put  to  flight, 
or  compelled  to  call  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
Constitution.  "In  the  commencement  of  a  Revolution  those 
men  are  rather  the  followers  of  the  camp  than  of  the  standard  of 
liberty,  and  have  yet  to  be  instructed  how  to  reverence  it."  As 
these  men  were  made  instrumental  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
Revolution  in  France,  Mr.  Paine  appears  to  intimate  that  they 
may  be  employed  for  a  similar  purpose  in  England.  I  am  as  little 
disposed  as  Mr.  Paine  can  be,  to  reproach  either  the  whole  nation 
to  which  they  belong,  or  that  unhappy  class  of  human  beings 
themselves,  for  the  devastation  which  they  commit.  They  cannot 
be  considered  as  free  agents,  and  therefore  are  neither  the  subjects 
of  praise  or  blame ;  but  the  friend  of  humanity  will  be  extremely 
cautious  how  he  ventures  to  put  in  action  a  tremendous  power, 
which  is  competent  only  to  the  purposes  of  destruction,  and  totally 
incapable  either  to  create  or  to  preserve.  This  class  of  men,  of 
whom  it  is  the  happiness  of  Americans  scarcely  to  be  able  to  form 
an  idea,  can  be  brought  to  act  in  concert  upon  no  other  principles 
than  those  of  a  frantic  enthusiasm  and  ungovernable  fury ;  their 
profound  ignorance  and  deplorable  credulity  make  them  proper 
tools  for  any  man  who  can  inflame  their  passions,  or  alarm  their 
superstition;  and  as  they  have  nothing  to  lose  by  the  total  dis 
solution  of  civil  society,  their  rage  may  be  easily  directed  against 
any  victim  which  may  be  pointed  out  to  them.  They  are  alto 
gether  incapable  of  forming  a  rational  judgment  either  upon  the 
principles  or  the  motives  of  their  own  conduct;  and  whether  the 
object  for  which  they  are  made  to  contend,  be  good  or  bad,  the 
brutal  arm  of  power  is  all  the  assistance  they  can  afford  for  its 
accomplishment.  To  set  in  motion  this  inert  mass,  the  eccentric 
vivacity  of  a  madman  is  infinitely  better  calculated  than  the  sober 
coolness  of  phlegmatic  reason.  They  need  only  to  be  provoked  and 
irritated,  and  they  never  can  in  any  other  manner  be  called  into 
action.  In  the  year  1780,  they  assembled  at  London  to  the  num- 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  83 

her  of  60,000,  under  the  direction  of  Lord  GEORGE  GORDON,  and 
carrying  fire  and  slaughter  before  them,  were  upon  the  point  of 
giving  the  whole  city  of  London  to  one  undistinguished  devasta 
tion  and  destruction:  and  this,  because  the  Parliament  had  miti 
gated  the  severity  of  a  sanguinary  and  tyrannical  law  of  perse 
cution  against  the  Roman  Catholics.  Should  these  people  be 
taught  that  they  have  a  right  to  do  every  thing,  and  that  the  titles 
of  Kings  and  Nobles,  and  the  wealth  of  Bishops,  are  all  usurpations 
and  robberies  committed  upon  them,  I  believe  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  rouse  their  passions,  and  to  prepare  them  for  every 
work  of  ruin  and  destruction.  But,  Sir,  when  they  are  once  put 
in  motion,  they  soon  get  beyond  all  restraint  and  control.  The 
rights  of  man,  to  life,  liberty,  and  property,  oppose  but  a  feeble 
barrier  to  them  ;  the  beauteous  face  of  nature,  and  the  elegant 
refinements  of  art,  the  hoary  head  of  wisdom,  and  the  enchanting 
smile  of  beauty,  are  all  equally  liable  to  become  obnoxious  to 
them ;  and  as  all  their  power  consists  in  destruction,  whatever 
meets  with  their  displeasure  must  be  devoted  to  ruin.  Could  any 
thing  but  an  imperious,  over-ruling  necessity  justify  any  man,  or 
body  of  men,  for  using  a  weapon  like  this  to  operate  a  Revolution 
in  Government  ?  Such  indeed  was  the  situation  of  the  French 
National  Assembly,  when  they  directed  the  electric  fluid  of  this 
popular  frenzy  against  the  ancient  fabric  of  their  monarchy. 
They  justly  thought  that  no  price  could  purchase  too  dearly  the 
fall  of  arbitrary  power  in  an  individual,  but,  perhaps,  even  they 
were  not  aware  of  all  the  consequences  which  might  follow  from 
committing  the  existence  of  the  kingdom  to  the  custody  of  a  lawless 
and  desperate  rabble. 

But  do  the  people  of  England  labor  under  such  intolerable 
oppression,  as  would  authorise  any  of  their  patriots  to  employ  an 
arm  like  this  for  their  relief  ?  Suppose  sixty  thousand  men  should 
again  assemble  round  Westminster-hall,  and  with  clubs  and  fire 
brands  for  their  sole  arguments,  should  compel  the  Parliament 
to  call  a  convention  to  make  a  Constitution,  what  would  be  the 
probable  consequences  ?  Is  it  clear  that  so  large  a  majority  of  the 


84  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

people  of  England  have  lost  all  their  attachment  to  their  Constitu 
tion,  as  to  insure  an  acquiescence  in  the  measure  throughout  the 
kingdom  ?  Is  it  certain  that  one  quarter  part  of  the  people  would 
obey  an  act  extorted  by  such  violence  as  that  ?  Would  not  all 
the  friends  of  the  present  Government  rally  round  the  standard 
of  the  Constitution,  and  would  not  their  duty  compel  them  to 
defend  it  with  their  lives  and  fortunes  ?  If  it  should  soon  appear 
that  they  were  decidedly  the  strongest  party,  would  not  the  in 
surrection  be  extinguished  in  the  blood  of  its  leaders  ?  If  the 
parties  should  prove  to  be  nearly  equal,  would  not  the  nation  be 
involved  in  all  the  horrors  of  a  long  and  bloody  civil  war  ?  In 
whatever  point  of  view,  the  effects  of  this  scheme  are  contemplated, 
they  present  nothing  but  prospects  at  which  every  friend  of  man 
kind  must  shudder;  nor  can  I  possibly  believe  that  Mr.  Paine, 
who  is  certainly  a  benevolent  man,  would  deliberately  recom 
mend  this  method,  though,  in  his  ardent  zeal  for  the  honor  of  the 
French  nation,  and  the  propagation  of  their  doctrine,  he  has 
incautiously  suggested  it. 

But  he  recommends  Revolutions  by  accommodation ;  which, 
applied  to  England,  must  mean  that  a  convention  be  called  by 
a  free  and  deliberate  act  of  Parliament,  to  alter  the  Constitution ; 
but  this  plan  appears  to  be  equally  dangerous  with  the  other,  and 
more  impracticable;  while,  by  a  singular  fatality,  an  act  of  this 
kind  would  be  the  completest  evidence  of  its  own  inutility,  it  would 
be  equally  dangerous,  because  by  a  formal  act  of  competent 
authority  it  would  expose  the  kingdom  to  all  the  evils  of  anarchy 
and  of  war,  which  in  the  other  case  would  result  from  a  popular 
convulsion.  It  would  be  less  practicable,  because  it  is  contrary 
to  nature,  that  any  body  of  men  should  venture  to  perform  the 
most  transcendent  act  of  power  of  which  human  beings  are  capable, 
for  the  single  purpose  of  divesting  themselves  of  all  power  whatever. 
It  would  prove  its  own  inutility,  because  no  man  will  presume  that 
they  ought  to  take  such  a  measure,  unless  the  wishes  of  a  clear 
and  decided  majority  of  the  people  are  favorable  to  an  alteration 
of  the  Government.  If  they  are  disposed  to  act  in  conformity 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  85 

with  the  desires  of  the  people,  the  very  same  power  which  would 
authorise  them  to  dissolve  the  Government,  would  likewise  justify 
them  in  making  any  alterations  which  would  meet  with  the  wishes 
of  the  nation,  and  would  render  a  recurrence  to  them" in  their 
original  character  "  perfectly  unnecessary. 

Whatever  Mr.  Paine's  opinion  may  be  with  respect  to  the 
existence  of  an  English  Constitution,  it  is  certain  that  every  mem 
ber  of  the  British  Parliament  who  gives  his  vote  in  the  making 
of  a  new  law,  or  the  alteration  of  an  old  one,  must  suppose  that  he 
acts  by  virtue  of  a  Constitutional  right  vested  in  him ;  but  the 
same  right  which  authorises  him  to  give  his  suffrage  in  the  most 
trifling  object  of  legislation,  has  vested  in  the  Parliament,  of  which 
he  is  a  member,  the  whole  power  of  the  British  nation,  and  he 
cannot  possibly  deny  their  right  without  utterly  destroying  his 
own.  The  right  of  the  individual  depends  altogether  upon  the 
right  of  the  corporation,  and  his  right  to  vote  for  the  regulation 
of  a  turnpike,  or  the  toll  of  a  bridge,  is  the  same  with  theirs  to  make 
every  necessary  and  convenient  alteration  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  kingdom  itself.  While  they  are  thus  convinced  of  their 
right  to  exercise  these  great  powers,  would  it  not  be  the  summit 
of  extravagance  and  folly  in  them,  nay,  would  it  not  be  the  most 
flagrant  breach  of  the  trust  reposed  in  them,  of  which  they  could 
possibly  be  guilty,  to  abdicate  an  authority  lawfully  committed 
to  them,  to  declare  themselves  altogether  incompetent  to  a  wise 
and  prudent  use  of  a  Constitutional  power,  and  to  commit  the 
peace,  the  welfare,  the  very  existence  of  the  nation,  to  the  uncer 
tain  and  hazardous  event  of  a  Revolution  ? 

If,  however,  we  can  suppose  that  the  Parliament  should  finally 
accede  to  the  idea,  that  they  are  mere  tyrants  without  the  shadow 
of  a  right  to  the  authority  which  they  have  hitherto  exercised,  the 
only  act  which  they  could  agree  to,  would  be  a  vote  to  dissolve 
themselves,  and  leave  the  vessel  of  the  state  without  either  a  pilot 
or  a  rudder.  For  the  very  act  of  calling  a  convention  would  be 
an  usurpation,  and,  from  the  importance  of  its  consequences,  an 
usurpation  of  the  most  daring  nature  :  it  would  be  assuming  the 


86  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

right  to  dissolve  the  ties  of  society,  and  at  the  same  instant  ac 
knowledging  that  this  assumed  right  was  without  any  sort  of 
foundation.  In  short,  this  plan  of  calling  a  convention  to  alter 
the  Constitution,  by  act  of  Parliament,  appears  to  me,  in  what 
ever  light  it  be  considered,  to  involve  an  absurdity. 

But,  as  there  is  unquestionably  somewhere  in  England,  a  com 
bination  of  the  right  and  of  the  power  to  alter  the  Constitution 
of  the  country,  and  as  that  Constitution  is  indubitably  liable  to 
be  improved,  we  may  be  permitted  to  inquire,  whether  a  blind 
imitation  of  the  French  National  Assembly  would  probably  pro 
mote  the  happiness  of  the  people,  the  only  objects  for  which  all 
Governments  were  instituted,  or  which  can  authorise  their  altera 
tion. 

VI1 

SIR,  Mr.  Paine  affirms  that  the  French  nation  have  a  Constitu 
tion,  and  that  the  English  have  none.  I  have  already  offered  a 
few  observations  upon  the  latter  part  of  this  assertion ;  but,  as  a 
preliminary  to  some  remarks  which  I  propose  to  make  upon  his 
comparison,  I  must  premise,  that  directly  the  reverse  of  his 
opinion  upon  this  subject  is  the  truth,  and  that  in  reality  the  Eng 
lish  nation  have  a  Constitution,  and  the  French  as  yet  have  none. 
The  National  Assembly  have  indeed  been  constantly  sitting  these 
two  years,  to  form  a  Constitution ;  and  at  the  ceremony  of  the 
Federation  about  eleven  months  since,  they  swore  themselves  and 
their  King  to  the  observance  of  a  Constitution  to  be  made.  But 
as  they  are  still  possessed  of  the  whole  power  of  the  nation,  they 
may  repeal  any  article  upon  which  they  have  hitherto  agreed,  by 
virtue  of  the  same  authority,  which  enabled  them  to  pass  the 
decree,  and,  therefore,  according  to  Mr.  Paine's  own  ideas,  the 
French  cannot  be  said  to  have  a  Constitution,  until  the  National 
Assembly  shall  please  to  dissolve  themselves,  and  to  put  their 
whole  system  into  full  operation. 

I  have  endeavored  to  show  that  it  is  not  absolutely  essential 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  June  29,  1791. 


i7Qi]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  87 

to  the  existence  of  a  Constitution,  that  it  should  be  producible 
"in  a  visible  form."  The  period  of  time  when  the  foundations 
of  the  present  English  Government  were  laid  by  the  association 
of  the  people  in  "their  original  character"  cannot,  indeed,  be 
ascertained.  Many  of  the  laws  which  are  in  use  to  this  day  in 
Great  Britain,  and  from  thence  have  been  adopted  by  the  American 
Republics,  may  be  traced  back  to  the  remotest  period  of  antiquity, 
and  the  origin  even  of  the  institution  of  Juries,  an  institution  so 
congenial  to  the  genuine  spirit  of  freedom,  is  lost  in  the  obscurity 
of  the  fabulous  ages.  Many  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
English  Constitution  are  known  to  have  existed  long  before  the 
invention  of  printing,  and  even  before  the  inhabitants  of  Britain 
were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  letters,  and  it  would  therefore  be 
an  absurdity  to  require  that  the  original  articles  should  be  produced 
"in  a  visible  form."  But  "ex  nihilo,  nihilfit"  the  very  existence 
of  these  principles  proves  the  formation  of  a  social  compact  pre 
vious  to  that  existence,  and  the  spirit  of  liberty,  which  is  their 
distinguishing  characteristic,  affords  internal  evidence,  that  they  did 
not  originate  in  the  merciless  despotism  of  a  conqueror,  but  in  the 
free  and  unrestrained  consent  of  a  manly  and  generous  people.  It 
will  not  be  said  that  an  original  compact  was  never  formed,  because 
it  is  not  recorded  in  the  page  of  history;  as  well  might  it  be  pre 
tended  that  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  arose  self-created  from  the 
earth,  because  the  time  of  their  erection,  and  the  names  of  their 
builders  have  been  consigned  to  that  oblivion  in  which  all  human 
labors  are  destined  to  be  overwhelmed. 

William  of  Normandy,  to  whom  Mr.  Paine  always  refers  the 
origin  of  the  English  Government,  was  the  conqueror  only  of 
Harold.  He  obtained  the  crown  of  England  by  popular  election, 
upon  the  express  condition  that  he  would  govern  the  nation  accord 
ing  to  her  ancient  laws  and  customs ;  he  took  the  same  oath  at  his 
coronation  which  had  been  taken  by  his  predecessors,  and  by  his 
last  will,  after  bequeathing  the  province  of  Normandy  to  his  eldest 
son  Robert,  he  expressly  acknowledged  that  he  did  not  possess  the 
kingdom  of  England  as  an  inheritance,  and  only  recommended  his 


88  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

son  William  as  his  successor.  It  would  be  altogether  unnecessary 
at  this  time  to  discuss  the  question  whether  the  crown  of  England 
was  originally  hereditary  or  elective,  but  the  facts  which  I  have 
here  stated,  and  which  are  warranted  by  all  the  most  ancient  and 
most  authentic  English  historians,  fully  demonstrate  that  the 
English  Government  did  not  originate  in  the  Norman  conquest. 
"If  the  succession  runs  in  the  line  of  the  conquest,  the  nation  runs 
in  the  line  of  being  conquered,  and  it  ought  to  rescue  itself  from 
this  reproach,"  says  Mr.  Paine.  "The  victory  obtained  at  Hast 
ings  not  being  a  victory  over  the  nation  collectively,  but  only  over 
the  person  of  Harold,  the  only  right  that  the  conqueror  could 
pretend  to  acquire  thereby,  was  the  right  to  possess  the  crown 
of  England,  not  to  alter  the  nature  of  the  Government"  says  Judge 
Blackstone  (i  Comm.  199).  Upon  a  question  of  fact  relative  to 
the  English  Constitution,  Blackstone  is,  I  believe,  as  good  an 
authority  as  Mr.  Paine,  but  I  wish  not  to  rest  the  question  upon 
any  authority  whatever :  I  venture  to  affirm,  that  any  man  who 
will  coolly  and  impartially  examine  the  subject,  and  appeal  to  the 
original  sources  of  information,  will  acknowledge  that  those  who 
derive  the  origin  of  the  English  Government  from  William  the  Con 
queror,  can  do  it  upon  no  other  principle  than  that  of  supporting 
a  system. 

It  is  not,  however,  necessary  upon  the  present  occasion  to 
revive  a  question  which  has  been  discussed  among  the  English  with 
all  the  acrimony  of  faction.  Mr.  Paine  has  chosen  the  ground  which 
was  not  found  tenable  by  the  slavish  supporters  of  passive  obedience 
and  the  divine  right  of  Kings.  They  took  it  originally,  because 
it  was  necessary  to  them  for  the  support  of  their  system,  and 
they  were  driven  from  it  by  the  friends  and  supporters  of  equal 
liberty.  Mr.  Paine  found  it  necessary  to  support  a  doctrine  of 
a  very  different  nature ;  and  adopting  the  maxim,  that  it  is  lawful 
to  learn,  even  from  our  enemies,  he  has  freely  borrowed  from  them 
the  practice  of  accommodating  the  facts  of  history  to  his  political 
purposes. 

Be  that,  however,  as  it  may,  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain, 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  89 

from  time  to  time,  have  enacted  certain  laws,  which,  from  their 
superior  importance,  have  been  denominated  Constitutional ; 
the  acquiescence  of  the  people,  to  whom  most  of  these  laws  have 
been  extremely  satisfactory,  gives  them  at  least  as  good  a  sanc 
tion  as  the  Constitution  of  France  has  obtained.  The  National 
Assembly  were  not  originally  chosen  to  form  a  Constitution. 
They  were  called  together  as  States  General,  under  the  authority 
of  another  Constitution,  such  as  it  was.  They  assumed  the  power 
to  dissolve  the  old  Constitution,  and  to  form  another,  and  the  ac 
quiescence  of  the  people  has  confirmed  their  assumption.  At 
all  events,  therefore,  their  Constitution  stands  upon  no  better 
ground  than  the  acts  of  the  British  Parliament. 

If,  then,  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  have  a  right  to  declare 
what  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  they  will  be  able  to 
produce  a  system  of  Constitutional  law,  even  according  to  Mr. 
Paine's  wish,  "in  a  visible  form."  This  system  is  contained  in  a 
number  of  statutes,  enacted  not  at  one  time,  or  by  one  body  of 
men,  but  at  divers  times,  according  to  the  occasional  conven 
ience  of  the  people,  and  by  a  competent  authority.  These  statutes 
contain  the  principles  upon  which  the  English  Government  is 
founded,  and  are  therefore  proper  objects  of  comparison  with  the 
Constitution  which  is  to  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  in  France. 
The  comparisons  which  Mr.  Paine  has  drawn  are  not  partially 
favorable  to  his  native  country.  We  shall  enquire  whether  they 
are  perfectly  consistent  with  truth. 


VII1 

SIR,  By  the  English  Constitution,  the  whole  collective  power  of 
the  nation  is  delegated,  and  the  Constitution  itself  is  alterable 
by  the  same  authority  which  is  competent  to  the  common  pur 
poses  of  legislation. 

The  French  are  to  have  a  Constitution,  every  part  of  which 
will  be  nominally  beyond  the  control  of  their  common  legislatures, 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  July  2,  1791. 


90  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

and  which  will  be  unalterable  in  all  parts,  except  by  the  nation 
in  its  "original  character."  At  least  Mr.  Paine  has  undertaken 
to  answer  for  them  that  it  will  be  so  :  although  I  have  not  seen  any 
such  article  in  the  Constitution,  and  though  perhaps  it  has  not  yet 
been  decreed,  I  am  willing  to  take  Mr.  Paine's  word  for  the  fact, 
and  to  consider  the  subject  as  if  it  were  already  determined. 

I  have  made  some  observations  upon  Mr.  Paine's  arguments, 
as  they  respect  the  right  of  a  nation  to  delegate  all  their  power. 
As  a  question  of  expediency,  it  may  perhaps  be  more  difficult  to 
determine,  which  of  these  two  schemes  contains  the  least  evil. 
Both  of  them  are  supported  by  the  example  of  several  among  the 
American  States,  and  can  therefore  boast  the  sanction  of  authorities 
equally  respectable. 

The  fundamental  principle  upon  which  society  is  formed  appears 
to  be,  in  order  that  the  power  of  the  whole  may  be  rendered  sub 
servient  to  the  interests  of  the  whole.  The  problem  to  solve  is, 
in  what  manner  the  power  shall  be  distributed,  so  as  most  effec 
tually  to  answer  that  purpose  ?  Considering  the  extreme  diffi 
culty  with  which  a  whole  nation  can  be  brought  to  act  in  their 
original  character,  it  should  seem,  that  wisdom  must  dictate  to 
them  the  necessity  of  delegating  their  whole  power  in  such  a 
manner  as  that  it  may  be  rendered  beneficial  to  the  nation,  because 
whatever  power  is  retained  by  the  people,  cannot  be  exercised 
for  their  advantage  any  more  than  to  their  injury.  The  question 
therefore  occurs,  why  a  nation  should  not  delegate  all  its  powers  ? 
Mr.  Paine  has  bestowed  very  little  consideration  upon  this  subject; 
I  find,  that  although  he  gives  his  own  opinion  very  freely,  he  offers 
only  two  reasons  to  support  it.  One,  because  "such  a  Govern 
ment  would  be  arbitrary :"  the  other,  because  "there  is  a  paradox 
in  the  idea  of  vitiated  bodies  reforming  themselves."  In  the 
sense  in  which  the  word  arbitrary  is  here  used,  the  first  argument 
attacks  the  foundation  of  civil  society  itself;  for  whenever  a 
number  of  individuals  associate  together,  and  form  themselves 
into  a  body  politic,  called  a  nation,  the  possession  and  the  use  of 
the  whole  power  (which  is  not,  however,  arbitrary  power)  is  the 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  91 

very  object  of  their  association.  This  power  must  exist  some 
where,  and  I  cannot  see  the  reason  why  it  should  not  exist  for 
the  benefit  of  the  people.  But  whenever  a  Constitution  is  made 
unalterable  by  the  common  legislative  authority,  the  nation  do  in 
reality  abdicate  all  the  powers  which  they  are  said  to  retain, 
and  declare  that  very  important  powers  shall  at  all  events  be  useless 
to  them,  from  an  apprehension  that  they  might  possibly  be  abused 
to  their  injury.  It  is  as  if  a  man  should  bind  himself  never  to  wear 
a  sword,  lest  he  should  turn  it  against  his  own  breast.  The  only 
reason  why  the  whole  power  of  a  nation  should  not  be  delegated, 
must  arise  from  the  danger  of  its  being  abused  :  and  a  melancholy 
experience  has  always  shown,  that  when  the  whole  power  has  been 
thus  delegated  to  one  man,  or  to  one  body  of  men,  it  has  invariably 
been  grossly  abused,  and  the  sword  of  the  people  has  been  turned 
into  a  dagger  against  them.  From  the  pressure  of  those  evils, 
many  nations  have  been  induced  expressly  to  forbid  their  govern 
ments  the  use  of  certain  powers,  without  considering  that  the 
impotence  of  their  supreme  authority  would  certainly  be  very 
prejudicial  to  them,  and  perhaps  as  fatal  as  the  abuse  of  power. 
This  experiment  has  repeatedly  been  made;  it  has  frequently 
failed  :  and  I  believe,  that  after  several  more  experiments  shall 
fully  demonstrate  the  ill  policies  of  thus  annihilating  the  power  of 
the  nation,  it  will  be  clearly  seen,  that  all  the  powers  of  the  people 
ought  to  be  delegated  for  their  benefit,  and  that  their  true  interest 
consists  in  the  distribution  of  those  powers  in  such  a  manner  as 
shall,  in  its  own  operation,  guard  against  the  abuses  which  alone 
are  dangerous  to  the  people. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  appears  to  me  to  unite 
all  the  advantages,  both  of  the  French  and  of  the  English,  while 
it  has  avoided  the  evils  of  both.  By  that  Constitution,  the 
people  have  delegated  the  power  of  alteration,  by  vesting  it  in  the 
Congress,  together  with  the  State  Legislatures;  while  at  the  same 
time  it  has  provided  for  alterations  by  the  people  themselves  in 
their  original  character,  whenever  it  shall  evidently  appear  to  be 
the  wish  of  the  people  to  make  them.  This  article  appears  to  be 


92  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

replete  with  wisdom  ;  I  believe  it  will  stand  the  test  of  the  severest 
examination,  though,  according  to  the  ideas  emanating  from  Mr. 
Paine,  and  coming  to  us,  at  the  same  time,  by  reflection  from  the 
Secretary  of  State,  it  contains  a  very  dangerous  political  heresy. 

It  is  a  maxim  which  will  not,  I  trust,  be  disputed,  that  no 
Government,  of  which  the  people  is  not  a  constituent  part,  can 
secure  their  equal  rights ;  but  where  this  is  the  case,  to  cramp 
the  operations  of  their  own  Government  with  unnecessary  re 
strictions,  and  forbid  themselves  to  enact  useful  laws,  what  is  it 
but  to  defeat  the  purposes  of  society  by  the  very  act  which  gives 
it  a  permanent  existence  ;  to  tie  their  own  hands  from  an  imaginary 
apprehension,  that  if  left  at  liberty,  they  would  administer  poison  to 
the  body  which  nourishes  them. 

It  is  in  the  distribution  of  the  national  powers,  it  is  in  the  inde 
pendent  spirit  of  the  people,  and  not  in  the  manuscript  limitations 
of  the  legislative  authority,  that  a  nation  is  to  secure  the  protection 
of  its  liberties.  In  this  commonwealth  we  have  a  Constitution, 
most  parts  of  which  are  unalterable  by  our  ordinary  Legislatures ; 
it  has  existed  but  ten  years :  and  already  its  operation  has  con 
vinced  us  all,  that  several  alterations  in  the  system  would  be  highly 
expedient.  Our  Legislative  body  would  be  fully  competent  to  the 
purpose,  and,  if  they  had  the  power,  would  readily  make  such 
alterations  as  might  suit  the  convenience  of  the  people ;  but  they 
have  no  authority  to  act  in  these  cases  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  ; 
and  as  the  inconveniences  to  which  this  injudicious  jealousy  has 
subjected  us,  are  not  at  this  time  of  such  importance,  as  to  render 
the  alterations  of  immediate  or  absolute  necessity,  we  must  wait 
our  appointed  time,  and  patiently  submit  to  the  operation  of  bad 
laws,  because  we  have  not  chosen  to  invest  our  Legislature  with  the 
power  of  making  good  ones.  Let  us  not  be  frightened,  however, 
from  the  pursuit  of  our  common  interest  by  the  words  arbitrary 
power.  Distribute  the  whole  of  your  power  in  such  a  manner,  as 
will  necessarily  prevent  any  one  man,  or  body  of  men,  or  any  possible 
combination  of  individual  interests,  from  being  arbitrary,  but  do 
not  incumber  your  own  representatives  with  shackles,  prejudicial 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  93 

to  your  own  interests ;  nor  suffer  yourselves,  like  the  Spanish 
Monarch  of  ridiculous  memory,  to  be  roasted  to  death,  by  denying 
to  your  servants  the  power  of  removing  the  fire  from  before  you. 

But  although  a  Constitution,  professedly  unalterable  by  the 
common  legislative  authority,  is  of  weight  sufficient  to  prevent 
the  enacting  of  many  good  laws,  yet  it  will  not  always  operate  as  a 
check  upon  your  legislature.  Such  is  the  poverty  of  all  human 
labors,  that  even  a  whole  nation  cannot  express  themselves  upon 
paper  with  so  much  accuracy  and  precision,  as  not  to  admit  of 
much  latitude  of  explanation  and  construction.  The  Legislature 
must  always  be  allowed  to  judge  of  the  intentions  with  which  the 
instrument  was  formed,  and  to  construe  and  explain  accordingly 
the  expressions  which  it  contains.  They  some  times  think  proper 
to  violate  the  letter  of  the  Constitution  by  adhering  to  its  spirit, 
and  at  other  times  they  sacrifice  the  spirit  by  adhering  strictly 
to  the  letter.  But  when  your  Legislature  undertakes  to  decide 
that  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  is  directly  contrary  to  its  express 
letter,  where  is  the  power  in  the  nation  that  should  control  them  ? 
The  same  power  which  will  always  be  sufficient  to  control  a  Legis 
lature,  of  which  the  people  are  a  constituent  part;  it  is  the  spirit 
of  the  people.  Let  your  legislative  and  executive  authorities  be 
so  constituted,  as  to  prevent  every  essential,  or  dangerous  abuse 
of  the  powers  delegated,  but  depend  upon  the  honest  and  en 
lightened  spirit  of  the  people  for  a  security  which  you  never  will 
obtain,  by  merely  withholding  your  powers,  unless  that  spirit 
should  be  constantly  kept  up.  Divide  your  power  so  that  every 
part  of  it  may  at  all  times  be  used  for  your  advantage,  but  in  such 
a  manner,  that  your  rights  may  never  depend  upon  the  will  of  any 
one  man  or  body  of  men ;  entrust  even  the  power  of  altering  your 
Constitution  itself,  because  occasion  may  arise,  when  the  use  even 
of  that  power  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  your  own  welfare; 
when,  at  the  same  time,  it  may  be  impossible  for  you  to  act  in  your 
original  character,  with  the  expedition  necessary  for  your  salvation  : 
but  reserve  to  yourselves  a  concurrent  power  of  altering  the 
Constitution  in  your  own  persons,  because  by  the  decay  to  which 


94  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

all  the  works  of  man  are  liable,  it  is  possible  that  your  Legislature 
may  become  incompetent  to  make  such  alterations  as  may  be 
necessary.  But  when  the  people  are  constantly  represented  in 
the  Legislature,  I  believe  they  will  never  find  it  necessary  to  re 
cur  to  their  original  character,  in  order  to  make  any  alterations, 
which  they  may  deem  expedient,  unless  they  deny  the  power  of 
making  them  to  their  Legislature. 

"But,"  says  Mr.  Paine,  "there  is  a  paradox  in  the  idea  of 
vitiated  bodies  reforming  themselves."  This  must  depend  alto 
gether  upon  the  coincidence  of  the  part  vitiated  with  the  part  which 
is  to  apply  the  remedy ;  for  unless  the  defect  itself  necessarily  pre 
cludes  the  possibility  of  applying  the  power  of  reformation,  the 
paradox  ceases,  and  no  more  involves  an  absurdity,  than  that  a 
physician  should  use  his  own  prescriptions  to  cure  himself  of  a  dis 
order. 

The  very  act  by  which  septennial  Parliaments  were  established 
in  England,  affords  sufficient  proof  that  the  power  of  altering 
the  constitution  itself  ought  to  be  delegated,  and  even  exercised 
by  the  Government  upon  certain  critical  occasions.  That  act 
was  made  at  a  time  when  the  kingdom  was  threatened  with  an 
immediate  invasion,  when  a  rebellion  had  but  just  been  quelled,  and 
when  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  nation  depended  upon  the  use  of 
this  power  by  the  Parliament ;  such  was  the  opinion  of  the  people 
at  that  time,  and  the  act  met  with  general  approbation,  from  the 
general  conviction  of  its  necessity.  Such  occasions  may  happen  in 
the  history  of  every  free  people,  and  it  is  therefore  proper  that  the 
power  should  be  delegated.  Upon  the  principles  of  equal  liberty, 
upon  the  principles  of  public  happiness,  and  therefore  of  political 
expedience,  I  think  it  may  be  fairly  concluded,  that  Mr.  Paine's 
preference  of  the  French  to  the  English  constitution,  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  this  article,  is  not  founded  in  truth.1 

1  "Publicola  has  been  reprinted  in  all  the  most  respectable  papers  to  the  south 
ward.  His  animadverters,  not  answerers,  swarm  like  Bees,  and,  like  Drone  Bees 
they  only  buz. 

"  SIT"  As  it  has  been  asserted  in  one  of  the  Philadelphia  newspapers,  that  the 
papers  under  the  signature  of  Publicola,  were  written  by  the  VICE  PRESIDENT,  in 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  95 

VIII1 

Mr.  Paine  has  undertaken  to  compare  the  English  and  French 
constitutions,  upon  the  article  of  representation.  He  has  of  course 
admired  the  latter,  and  censured  the  former.  This  is  unquestion 
ably  the  most  defective  part  of  the  English  constitution,  but  even 
the  most  essential  of  these  defects  appear  to  flow  from  the  natural 
order  of  things  which  a  revolution  in  government  could  not  reform ; 
from  a  state  of  society,  when  every  principle  of  religion  or  of  moral 
ity  has  lost  its  influence,  and  where  the  only  shadow  of  virtue, 
public  or  private,  remaining  among  a  great  majority  of  the  people, 
is  founded  upon  an  imaginary  point  of  honor,  the  relict  of  the 
exploded  age  of  chivalry.  Such  at  present  is  the  situation  of  the 
national  character  both  in  England  and  in  France.  To  attempt  to 
govern  a  nation  like  this,  under  the  form  of  a  democracy,  to  pretend 
to  establish  over  such  beings  a  government  which  according  to 
Rousseau  is  calculated  only  for  a  republic  of  Gods,  and  which 
requires  the  continual  exercise  of  virtues  beyond  the  reach  of 
human  infirmity,  even  in  its  best  estate ;  it  may  possibly  be  among 
the  dreams  of  Mr.  Paine,  but  it  is  what  even  the  National  Assembly 
have  not  ventured  to  do;  their  system  will  avoid  some  of  the 
defects,  which  the  decays  of  time  and  the  mutability  of  human 
affairs  have  introduced  into  that  of  the  English,  but  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  affirm  that  they  have  departed  much  further  from  the  es 
sential  principles  of  popular  representation,  and  that  however  their 
attachment  to  republican  principles  may  have  been  celebrated, 
the  theory  of  their  National  Assembly  is  more  remote  from  the 
spirit  of  democracy  than  the  practice  of  the  English  House  of 
Commons. 

The  ground  upon  which  Mr.  Paine  acknowledges  his  approbation 
of  the  French  constitution  are  that  they  have  limited  the  number  of 
their  representatives,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  of  citizens 

justice  to  that  pcntleman,  and  the  publick,  they  are  assured  that  he  has  no  more 
concern  in  the  publication,  than  the  author  of ' Rights  of  Man  '  himself."  Columbian 
Cfntinel,  July  2,  1791. 

1  Columbian  Centinfl,  July  9,  1791. 


96  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

who  pay  a  tax  of  60  sous  per  annum,  and  the  duration  of  the 
assembly  to  two  years.  It  is  certainly  essential  to  the  principles 
of  representation  that  there  should  be  a  frequent  recurrence  to  the 
constituent  body  for  election,  because  it  is  the  only  security  of 
the  constituent  for  the  fidelity  of  the  agent.  It  is  the  only  practical 
responsibility  by  which  the  representative  is  bound.  The  term 
of  seven  years  for  which  the  House  of  Commons  is  elected,  weakens 
the  responsibility  too  much,  and  is  a  proper  object  of  constitutional 
reform ;  but  by  the  French  constitutions,  there  is  no  responsibility 
at  all ;  no  connexion  between  the  representative  and  his  constituent : 
The  people  have  not  even  once  in  seven  years  an  opportunity  to 
dismiss  a  servant  who  may  have  displeased  them,  or  to  re-elect 
another  who  may  have  given  them  satisfaction.  There  is  upon 
the  French  system  less  dependence  of  the  representative  upon  his 
constituent  than  in  England,  and  the  mode  of  election  renders  the 
biennial  return  of  the  choice  almost  wholly  nugatory.  It  is 
not  true  that  the  French  constitution  allows  the  privilege  of 
voting  for  a  representative  in  the  National  Assembly  to  every  man 
who  pays  a  tax  of  60  sous  per  annum.  Mr.  Paine  has  mistaken 
the  fact,  for  it  is  impossible  that  he  should  have  intentionally 
misrepresented  it;  though  it  differs  almost  as  much  from  his 
principles  as  from  those  of  a  real  popular  representation.  It 
is  as  follows.  Every  Frenchman  born  or  naturalized,  of  23 
years  of  age,  who  pays  a  tax  equal  to  three  days'  labor,  is  not  a 
hired  servant,  nor  a  bankrupt,  nor  the  son  of  a  deceased  bank 
rupt  (a  very  unjust  qualification),  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for  — 
what  ?  A  representative  to  the  National  Assembly  ?  By  no 
means.  Yet  one  would  think  the  exclusions  sufficiently  severe, 
for  a  government  founded  upon  the  equal  rights  of  all  men ;  but  he 
shall  vote  for  members  of  a  certain  assembly;  this  assembly  is 
allowed  to  choose,  not  the  representatives  of  the  nation,  but 
another  body  of  electors,  who  are  to  be  the  immediate  constituents 
of  the  legislative  assembly.  Thus  the  supreme  legislative  council 
of  the  nation,  are  to  be  the  representatives  of  a  representative  body, 
whose  constituents  are  the  representatives  of  the  people;  and  at 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  97 

every  stage  of  this  complicated  representation,  the  free  citizens 
of  the  state,  are  excluded  from  their  natural  rights,  by  additional 
qualifications  in  point  of  property.  Yet  this  is  the  system  which 
we  are  told  is  to  abolish  aristocracy. 

In  the  formation  of  the  legislative  body,  the  National  Assembly 
contemplated  three  different  objects  of  representation,  the  persons 
of  the  people,  their  property,  and  the  territory  which  they  inhabit : 
They  have  endeavored  to  establish  a  proportion  compounded 
from  the  three,  but  in  the  refinement  of  their  metaphysics  and 
mathematics,  they  have  lost  the  primary  object  itself,  and  the 
people  are  not  represented. 

But  setting  aside  their  calculations,  what  is  the  essential  prin 
ciple  upon  which  the  representation  of  the  people  in  the  legis 
lature  is  to  be  grounded  ?  It  is,  that  a  Freeman  shall  never  be 
bound  by  any  law  unless  he  has  consented  to  it.  It  is  impossible, 
except  in  a  very  small  state,  that  every  individual  should  personally 
give  his  voice,  and  therefore  this  practice  of  voting  by  representa 
tion  was  invented.  In  its  most  perfect  state  it  cannot  fully  answer 
the  purpose  of  its  institution,  because  every  representative  is 
actuated  by  several  powerful  motives,  which  could  not  operate 
upon  his  constituents.  It  is  an  artificial  democracy,  which  never 
can  perform  completely  the  functions  of  the  natural  democracy; 
but  imperfect  as  it  always  must  be,  no  other  contrivance  has  been 
hitherto  devised,  which  could  so  effectually  give  their  operation 
to  the  opinions  of  the  people.  In  the  theory  of  representation  it 
is  a  personal  trust,  by  which  a  thousand  individuals  may  authorise 
one  man  to  express  their  sentiments  upon  every  law  which  may  be 
enacted  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  people :  and  therefore  in 
theory  every  representative  ought  to  be  elected  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  his  constituents ;  for  how  can  a  man  be  said  to  have  been 
consulted  in  the  formation  of  a  law,  when  the  agent  authorised  to 
express  his  opinion  was  not  the  man  of  his  choice  ?  Every  pecuniary 
qualification  imposed  either  on  the  electors  or  as  a  condition  of 
elegibility,  is  an  additional  restriction  upon  the  natural  democracy, 
and  weakens  the  original  purpose  of  the  institution.  Thus  far  the 


98  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

people  of  America  have  submitted  to  necessity  in  the  constitution 
of  their  popular  assemblies.  But  when  the  principle  is  abandoned 
so  completely,  that  the  individual  citizen,  even  in  the  pretended 
exercise  of  his  infinitesimal  fragment  of  sovereignty  cannot 
possibly  form  an  opinion,  who  will  be  the  elector  of  the  represen 
tative  that  is  to  be  the  depositary  of  his  opinion  in  the  acts  of  legis 
lation  ?  The  assembly  thus  formed  may  indeed  assume  the  name 
of  a  democracy,  but  it  will  no  more  be  entitled  to  the  appellation 
than  an  ill  drawn  miniature  portrait,  to  that  of  the  animated 
original  which  it  may  profess  to  represent. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  reason  why  the  National  Assembly  have 
chosen  to  refine  their  representation  through  so  many  strainers 
was  to  avoid  the  violence,  the  tumults,  the  riots  which  render 
almost  all  the  populous  towns  in  England  a  scene  of  war  and 
blood  at  the  period  of  Parliamentary  elections.  Time  alone  will 
inform  us  what  the  success  of  their  system  will  be,  even  in  this 
particular.  Their  elections,  however,  must  be  extremely  ex 
pensive,  and  must  open  a  thousand  avenues  to  every  sort  of 
intrigue  and  venality.  The  National  Assembly  as  a  body,  will  be 
in  theory  an  aristocracy  without  responsibility.  This  aristocracy 
thus  constituted  are  to  possess  the  supreme  power  of  the  nation, 
limited  only  by  a  printed  constitution  subject  to  their  own  con 
struction  and  explanation. 

Happy,  thrice  happy  the  people  of  America  !  whose  gentle 
ness  of  manners  and  habits  of  virtue  are  still  sufficient  to  reconcile 
the  enjoyment  of  their  natural  rights,  with  the  peace  and  tran 
quillity  of  their  country ;  whose  principles  of  religious  liberty 
did  not  result  from  an  indiscriminate  contempt  of  all  religion 
whatever,  and  whose  equal  representation  in  their  legislative 
councils  was  founded  upon  an  equality  really  existing  among 
them,  and  not  upon  the  metaphysical  speculations  of  fanciful 
politicians,  vainly  contending  against  the  unalterable  course  of 
events,  and  the  established  order  of  nature. 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  99 

IX1 

From  the  existence  of  game  laws  and  of  monopolies  in  England, 
Mr.  Paine  infers  the  wisdom  of  the  National  Assembly,  who  have 
decreed,  that  there  shall  be  none  in  France.  I  shall  not  defend 
the  game  laws  or  the  monopolies  allowed  in  England  ;  Mr.  Paine's 
comparisons  are  made  with  the  professed  intention  of  showing  the 
superiority  of  the  French  Constitution,  and  he  has  therefore  always 
chosen  his  own  ground  of  comparison.  He  might  have  pursued  a 
system  more  consistent  with  truth  and  candor,  but  it  would  not 
have  answered  his  purpose  so  effectually.  The  true  drift  of  Mr. 
Paine's  argument  in  this  instance  is  this,  The  English  Parliament 
have  enacted  game  laws  that  operate  unequally.  They  have  allowed 
more  monopolies  than  are  advantageous  to  the  people;  therefore  the 
Legislature  of  a  nation  ought  not  to  have  the  poiver  to  make  any  lazes 
at  all,  relative  either  to  game,  or  to  monopolies.  This  is  Mr.  Paine's 
principle,  and  it  is  the  real  ground  upon  which  he  prefers  the 
French  Constitution,  not  merely  to  that  of  England,  but  to  those 
of  every  State  in  the  American  union.  He  infers  that  the  English 
Constitution  is  bad,  because  under  that  Constitution  certain  bad 
laws  have  been  enacted,  and  are  not  yet  repealed.  And  he  con 
cludes  that  the  French  Constitution  is  excellent,  because  the 
universal  freedom  of  the  chase,  and  the  universal  freedom  of 
trade  are  placed  beyond  the  control  of  their  Legislature.  But  the 
preservation  of  game  is  an  object  of  public  concern,  and  the  Legis 
lature  of  every  country  ought  to  have  the  power  of  making  game 
laws  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  Whether  the  English  Parliament 
have  exerted  unwisely  this  power  which  has  been  delegated  to 
them  or  not,  is  a  question  altogether  foreign  to  the  purpose ;  we 
know  that  bad  laws  exist  in  every  country  under  Heaven,  but  it  is 
strange  reasoning,  to  infer  from  thence,  that  there  ought  not  to 
exist  in  the  nation  a  power  to  make  good  ones.  All  the  Legislatures 
in  the  United  States  have  the  power  to  enact  game  laws  and  to 
allow  monopolies.  They  all  of  them  exercise  this  power.  We  have 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  July  13,  1791. 


ioo  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

game  laws  and  monopolies  in  this  Commonwealth,  and  yet  no 
man  complains  that  they  are  destructive  to  his  liberty.  If  the 
French  Constitution  has  placed  the  regulation  of  those  objects 
beyond  the  reach  of  their  ordinary  legislative  authority,  they  will 
soon  find  by  their  experiences  of  inconveniencies  that  the  goodness 
of  a  Constitution  does  not  depend  upon  the  impotence  of  the 
Legislature. 

In  examining  the  next  article  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  do 
justice  to  the  wit  of  Mr.  Paine.  The  charge  which  he  has  so  often 
repeated  against  Mr.  Burke's  book  cannot  be  made  against  this 
production.  You  find  here  nothing  of  the  "spouting  rank  of 
high-toned  exclamation : "  You  do  not  even  find  the  delicate 
sallies  of  elegant  comedy.  His  own  words  must  be  quoted : 
"The  French  Constitution  says,  that  to  preserve  the  National 
representation  from  being  corrupt,  no  member  of  the  National 
Assembly  shall  be  an  officer  of  the  government,  a  placeman  or  a 
pensioner.  What  will  Mr.  Burke  place  against  this  ?  I  will 
whisper  his  answer :  Loaves  and  Fishes  "  And  then  he  proceeds 
to  show  that  the  answer  which  he  whispers  for  Mr.  Burke  is 
very  ridiculous.  There  is,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  something 
pleasant  in  this  mode  of  managing  an  argument;  but  it  is  rather 
unfortunate  that  Mr.  Paine  should  complain  as  an  abuse  of  the 
English  government,  that  it  is  "themselves  accountable  to  them 
selves,"  so  near  to  a  passage  which  is  most  assuredly  "himself 
undertaking  to  answer  himself."  Every  person  will  acknowledge 
that  the  answer  of  Loaves  and  Fishes  is  very  absurd ;  it  is  even  too 
absurd  for  Mr.  Burke  in  his  original  character;  and  the  only 
circumstance  that  renders  it  perfectly  accountable  is,  that  it  comes 
from  Mr.  Burke  by  his  representative,  who  certainly  never  had 
from  him  any  authority  to  misrepresent  him  so  palpably. 

Mr.  Paine  has  seldom  thought  proper  to  answer  even  the  few 
arguments  contained  in  the  book  which  is  so  obnoxious  to  him : 
Easy  as  it  might  have  been  to  refute  Mr.  Burke's  reasoning,  he 
probably  thought  it  easier  to  refute  his  own  :  He  has  hunted  for 
epigrams  where  he  ought  to  have  sought  arguments  :  In  the 


x7gi]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  101 

pursuit  of  those  epigrams  he  has  been  sometimes  not  unsuccessful 
in  exposing  the  absurdity  of  his  own  reasoning,  but  a  less  passionate 
or  more  generous  political  polemic,  would  not  have  chosen  to 
place  his  own  inconsistencies  to  the  account  of  his  antagonist. 

Mr.  Paine  has  not  however  grounded  his  preference  to  the 
French  Constitution  upon  truth,  in  this  instance  any  more  than  in 
the  other.  The  principle  of  excluding  placemen,  pensioners  and 
executive  officers  from  the  national  representation  is  acknowledged 
by  the  laws  under  the  English  Constitution  as  well  as  in  that  of 
France.  The  only  possible  advantage  which  the  French  can 
pretend  to,  is,  that  they  have  been  more  successful  in  its  appli 
cation.  Mr.  Paine  might  have  said  that  it  was  not  sufficiently 
extended  by  the  English  laws,  and  that  it  was  by  the  French  ;  and 
his  opinion  would  have  had  its  weight;  but  this  would  not  answer 
his  purpose;  the  French  Constitution  must  at  all  events  have  a 
triumph  ;  and  a  system  so  odious  as  the  English  government,  was 
not  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  common  truth  and  justice.  There 
are  however  several  acts  of  Parliament;  expressly  excluding  a 
great  variety  of  placemen,  pensioners  and  officers  dependent  upon 
the  executive  authority,  from  holding  seats  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  With  respect  to  pensioners  their  principle  is  more 
equitable  than  the  total  exclusion  of  the  French.  Every  person 
holding  a  pension  at  the  pleasure  of  the  King,  or  for  a  term  of  years 
is  excluded,  because  such  a  man  may  be  too  liable  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  the  executive  power;  but  if  a  man  has  received  a 
pension  for  life,  as  a  reward  for  services  rendered  his  country, 
a  pension  which  carries  no  dependence,  and  which  can  have  no 
effect  upon  the  legislative  conduct  of  the  person  entitled  to  it, 
neither  the  English  nor  the  Americans  think  that  former  services 
are  a  regular  disqualification  for  the  future;  nor  are  they  disposed 
to  deprive  any  man  of  an  invaluable  privilege,  merely  because 
they  have  paid  him  for  hazarding  his  life  perhaps,  or  his  fortune  in 
their  service. 

But,  says  Mr.  Paine,  by  the  English  Constitution  "those  who 
vote  the  supplies  are  the  same  persons  who  receive  the  supplies 


102  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

when  voted,  and  are  to  account  for  the  expenditure  of  those  supplies 
to  those  who  voted  them ;  it  is  themselves  accountable  to  them 
selves."  This  to  be  sure  is  very  ingenious,  but  it  is  not  in  any 
sense  true.  The  persons  who  vote  the  supplies  are  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  representatives  of  the  nation  :  To  them  the  King's 
ministers  (and  principally  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer)  are 
accountable  for  the  expenditure  of  the  monies  voted.  The  ministers 
may  indeed  be  at  the  same  time  members  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  the  system  is  perhaps  defective  in  allowing  a  few  individuals 
to  be  members  of  the  body  to  whom  they  are  accountable.  It 
may  be  inconvenient,  but  is  not  at  all  absurd,  and  is  purposely 
authorised  by  the  English  Constitution,  because  they  con 
sider  the  advantages  as  more  than  a  balance  for  its  incon 
veniences.  The  minister  of  the  supreme  executive  office,  states 
to  the  representatives  of  the  nation,  the  sums  necessary  to 
defray  the  annual  expenses  of  the  kingdom.  These  repre 
sentatives  vote  the  assessment  of  such  sums  as  they  think 
necessary,  and  make  the  appropriations.  The  ministers  then 
become  accountable  for  the  expenditures  according  to  the 
previous  appropriations,  to  that  body  of  which  they  are  indeed 
individual  members,  but  of  which  they  do  not  compose  an  hun 
dredth  part.  Upon  what  principle  then  are  we  told  that  it  is 
themselves  accountable  to  themselves  ?  They  have  indeed  in 
France  taken  great  pains  to  secure  the  independence  of  the  legis 
lative  upon  the  executive  authority ;  but  they  have  not  been 
equally  cautious  on  the  other  side.  Their  executive  is  left 
totally  at  the  mercy  of  the  legislature,  and  must  infallibly  soon  fall 
a  sacrifice  to  their  ambition. 

The  discussion  of  this  subject  would  lead  me  far  beyond  my 
present  intention.  I  have  shown  that  the  Constitution  of  England 
has  adopted  the  principle  of  excluding  citizens  dependent  upon 
the  executive  power,  from  the  House  of  Commons ;  the  French 
Constitution  has  done  no  more  ;  and  if  they  have  carried  the  appli 
cation  of  the  principle  further,  that  circumstance  does  not  warrant 
the  decided  preference  which  Mr.  Paine  has  so  liberally  bestowed  : 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  103 

Since  it  is  only  a  difference  of  opinion  upon  the  expediency  of 
particular  exclusions. 

X1 

The  next  article  upon  which  Mr.  Paine  has  pronounced  the 
superiority  of  the  French  Constitution,  is  upon  the  subject  of 
making  war  and  peace.  The  right,  he  says,  is  placed  where  the 
expense  is,  that  is,  in  the  nation  :  Whereas  "in  England,  the  right 
is  said  to  reside  in  a  metaphor,  shown  at  the  Tower  for  six  pence 
or  a  shilling  a  piece."  He  answers  himself  again  in  this  passage, 
and  shows  the  folly  of  placing  such  a  formidable  right  in  a  metaphor ; 
but  in  this  instance  as  in  the  former,  there  is  much  wit  and  no 
truth;  and  I  must  take  the  liberty  to  affirm  in  contradiction  to 
Mr.  Paine,  that  the  French  Constitution  has  not,  nor  could  not 
place  the  right  of  declaring  war,  where  the  expense  must  fall; 
and  that  the  English  Constitution  has  not  placed  this  right  in  a 
metaphor. 

The  expense  of  supporting  wars  must  in  all  countries  be  defrayed 
by  the  nation,  and  every  individual  must  bear  his  proportion  of 
the  burthen.  In  free  countries  that  proportion  must  always  be 
determined  by  the  representatives  of  the  people ;  but  the  right  of 
deciding  when  it  may  be  expedient  to  engage  in  a  war,  cannot 
possibly  be  retained  by  the  people  of  a  populous  and  extensive 
territory,  it  must  be  a  delegated  power;  and  the  French  Constitu 
tion  has  vested  it  in  the  National  Assembly.  By  the  English 
Constitution  it  is  vested  in  the  supreme  executive  officer;  but 
to  guard  against  the  abuse  of  this  formidable  power,  it  has  given 
to  the  representatives  of  the  people,  the  exclusive  right  of  providing 
for  the  support  of  the  war,  and  of  withholding  the  supplies,  "the 
sinews  of  war,"  if  it  should  ever  be  declared  contrary  to  the  sense 
of  the  people  themselves.  Mr.  Paine  supposes  a  perplexity,  which 
is  warranted  neither  by  theory  nor  by  the  experience  of  history. 
"If  the  one  rashly  declares  war,"  says  he,  "as  a  matter  of  right; 
and  the  other  peremptorily  withholds  the  supplies  as  a  matter  of 

1  Columbian  Centinfl,  July  20,  1791. 


104  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

right,  the  remedy  becomes  as  bad  or  worse  than  the  disease."  But 
every  war  in  England  must  be  the  war  of  the  people  :  The  King  is 
in  reality  no  more  than  the  organ  of  the  nation,  and  must  be  more 
than  an  idiot  to  declare  a  war,  upon  which  he  must  depend  alto 
gether  upon  them  for  its  support,  without  being  certain  of  that 
support.  Imaginary  conclusions  drawn  by  reasoning  against  the 
inevitable  order  of  things,  are  unworthy  of  a  politician,  and 
should  be  left  as  a  feeble  resource  for  the  satirist.  To  have  given 
his  objection  even  an  appearance  of  plausibility,  Mr.  Paine  should 
have  mentioned  an  instance,  when  this  clashing  of  the  rights  of  the 
King  and  of  the  Commons  has  ever  been  productive  of  the  ill 
effects  which  his  fancy  has  sagaciously  drawn  from  them. 

Indeed  Mr.  Paine  himself,  upon  further  reflection,  acknowledges 
the  futility  of  his  objection,  and  says  "that  in  the  manner  the 
English  nation  is  represented,  it  signifies  not  where  this  right 
resides,  whether  in  the  Crown  or  in  the  Parliament."  But  I 
apprehend,  if  the  representation  in  England  were  as  perfect  as 
human  wisdom  could  devise,  their  present  system  with  respect 
to  peace  and  war,  would  comprise  all  the  advantages  of  the  French 
system,  and  at  the  same  time  be  free  from  many  inconveniences, 
to  which  that  must  be  liable. 

It  must  be  clear  to  every  one  that  the  French  have  not,  as  Mr. 
Paine  pretends,  united  the  right  and  the  expense:  The  impracti 
cability  of  such  an  union,  must  be  equally  evident;  and  the  only 
question  which  can  establish  a  fair  ground  of  comparison,  between 
the  two  constitutions  is,  Whether  it  is  expedient  to  delegate  to  the 
legislative,  or  whether  to  the  executive  authority,  the  right  of  declaring 
war. 

As  I  am  not  yet  a  convert  to  Mr.  Paine's  opinion  that  a  nation 
has  a  right  to  do  what  it  pleases,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  that  they 
have  a  right  to  make  war  upon  their  neighbors,  without  provocation. 
The  people  by  their  representatives  must  judge,  when  the  provoca 
tion  is  sufficient  to  dissolve  them  from  all  the  obligations  of  moral 
ity  and  humanity,  by  which  nations  are  bound  to  preserve  the 
blessings  of  peace.  But  when  they  have  determined  that  the 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  105 

great  law  of  self-preservation,  to  which  all  other  laws  must  give 
way,  or  that  the  laws  which  they  have  enacted  in  consequence  of 
the  primitive  contract  which  united  all  their  power  for  the  benefit 
of  every  individual,  compel  them  to  appeal  for  justice  to  the  God 
of  battles,  then,  the  declaration  of  war,  the  formal  act,  by  which 
they  announce  to  the  world  their  intention  to  employ  the  arm  of 
power  in  their  own  defence,  seems  to  be  the  proper  attribute  of 
the  executive  power.  The  difference,  therefore,  between  the 
English  and  French  constitutions,  considered  in  this  light,  can 
involve  only  a  question  of  propriety,  and  as  such  the  English 
appears  to  me  to  deserve  the  preference. 

If  this  idea  should  be  considered  as  heretical,  I  must  beg  leave 
to  call  to  my  assistance  the  authority  of  Rousseau,  a  name  still 
more  respectable  than  that  of  Mr.  Paine,  because  death  has 
given  the  ultimate  sanction  to  his  reputation.  "The  act  of 
declaring  war,"  says  he  in  his  Social  Compact,  "and  that  of  making 
peace,  have  been  considered  as  acts  of  sovereignty,  which  is  not 
the  case;  for  either  of  those  acts  is  not  a  law,  but  only  an  applica 
tion  of  the  law;  a  particular  act  which  determines  the  operation 
of  the  law,  as  will  be  clearly  perceived  when  the  idea  annexed 
to  the  word  law  shall  be  ascertained."  The  spirit  of  the  English 
constitution  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  this  idea. 

But  let  us  consider  this  subject  a  little  further.  Whenever  a 
difference  arises  between  two  nations  which  may  terminate  in  a 
war,  it  is  proper  and  customary,  that  previous  negotiations  should 
be  held,  in  order  to  use  every  possible  means  of  settling  amicably 
the  dispute.  These  negotiations,  the  appointment  of  the  agents 
by  whom  they  are  to  be  conducted,  and  the  communication  of  the 
proposals  for  accommodation,  which  are  respectively  offered  by 
either  of  the  parties,  are  all  appropriated  to  the  executive  depart 
ment.  When  the  restoration  of  peace  becomes  expedient  in  the 
opinion  of  the  people,  agents  must  again  be  appointed,  and  pro 
posals  of  pacification  must  again  be  made.  It  is  obvious  to  every 
man,  that  in  the  management  of  these  concerns  the  utmost  secrecy 
and  despatch  are  frequently  of  essential  necessity  to  the  welfare 


io6  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1791 

of  the  people ;  but  what  secrecy  can  ever  be  expected,  when  every 
instruction  to  an  ambassador,  every  article  of  a  proposed  treaty, 
and  every  circumstance  of  information  from  the  minister,  in 
the  progress  of  his  operations,  must  be  known  to  twelve  hundred 
men  assembled  in  the  capital  of  the  republic;  what  probability 
of  despatch,  when  all  these  things  must  be  debated  in  this  As 
sembly  of  1 200  men;  where  every  thing  must  in  the  necessary 
order  of  events  be  opposed,  by  interested  individuals  and  irritated 
factions,  who  may  protract  the  discussion  for  months  or  years  at 
their  pleasure. 

By  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  it  is  true,  the  right 
of  declaring  war  is  vested  in  the  Congress,  that  is,  in  the  legislative 
power.  But  it  is  in  the  point  of  form  that  it  agrees  with  the 
Constitution  of  France ;  it  has  wisely  placed  the  management 
of  all  negotiations  and  treaties,  and  the  appointment  of  all 
agents  and  ministers  in  the  executive  department;  and  it 
has  so  thoroughly  adopted  in  this  instance  the  principles 
of  the  English  Constitution,  that  although  it  has  given  the 
Congress  the  right  of  declaring  war,  which  is  merely  a  difference  of 
form,  it  has  vested  in  the  President,  with  the  advice  of  the  Senate 
as  his  executive  council,  the  right  of  making  peace,  which  is 
implied  in  that  of  forming  treaties.  This  is  not  the  first  instance 
in  which  Mr.  Paine's  principles  attack  those  of  the  constitutions 
of  his  country.  Highly  as  we  may  revere,  however,  the  principles 
which  we  are  under  every  obligation  to  support,  we  may  without 
irreverence  acknowledge  that  they  partake  of  the  human  imperfec 
tion  from  which  they  originated,  and  if  Mr.  Paine's  principles 
in  opposition  to  them,  are  in  any  instance  founded  upon  eternal 
truth,  we  may  indulge  the  hope,  that  every  necessary  improvement 
will  be  adopted  in  a  peaceable  and  amicable  manner  by  the  general 
consent  of  the  people.  But  if  the  principles  of  Mr.  Paine,  or 
those  of  the  French  National  Assembly,  would  lead  us  by  a  vain 
and  delusive  pretence  of  an  impracticable  union,  between  the 
right  of  declaring,  and  the  expense  of  supporting  a  war,  to  the 
sacrifice  of  principles  founded  in  immutable  truth,  if  they  could 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  107 

persuade  us,  by  establishing  in  the  legislative  body  all  negotiations 
with  foreign  nations  relative  to  war  and  peace,  to  open  a  thousand 
avenues  for  base  intrigue,  for  furious  faction,  for  foreign  bribery, 
and  domestic  treason,  let  us  remain  immoveably  fixed  at  the 
banners  of  our  constitutional  freedom,  and  not  desert  the  im 
pregnable  fortress  of  our  liberties,  for  the  unsubstantial  fabric 
of  visionary  politicians.1 

XI2 

The  papers  under  the  signature  of  PUBLICOLA  have  called  forth 
a  torrent  of  abuse,  not  upon  their  real  author  nor  upon  the  senti 
ments  they  express,  but  upon  a  supposed  author,  and  supposed 
sentiments. 

With  respect  to  the  author,  not  one  of  the  conjectures  that  have 
appeared  in  the  public  prints  has  been  well  grounded.  The  \  ice- 
President  neither  wrote  nor  corrected  them  ;  he  did  not  give  his 
sanction  to  an  individual  sentiment  contained  in  them,  nor  did 
they  "go  to  the  press  under  the  assumed  patronage  of  his  son." 

With  respect  to  the  sentiments,  to  those  who  have  read  the 
pieces  with  attention,  it  is  needless  to  say,  that  they  are  simply 
an  examination  of  certain  principles  and  arguments  contained 

1  "It  would  secra  as  if  Mr.  Fenno  and  Mr.  Russell  had  entered  into  a  league 
to  insert  the  detestable  heresies  of  Publicola,  without  publishing  a  single  essay  to 
counteract  their  pernicious  tendency.     But  it  is    to  be  hoped  that  the  fx  partf 
perusal  which  Publicola  obtains  in  this  way  will  not  procure  many  proselytes  cither 
to  monarchy  or  aristocracy.     Publicola  seems  to  have  some  talents,  but  perverted 
as  they  are,  they  are  worse  than  thrown  away.     Like  Burke  he  has  attempted  to 
raise  a  structure  upon  a  rotten  foundation;  and  his  tottering  edifice,  like  that  of 
Burke,  would  soon  have  fallen  into  ruins  of  itself.     Its  fate,  however,  has  been 
accelerated  by  the  numerous  assailants  it  has  had  to  encounter.    It  is  a  circum 
stance  highly  honorable  to  the  political  character  of  our  country,  that  an  host  of 
enlightened  writers  have  arisen,  in  every  part  of  the  United   States,  to  oppose  the 
abominable    heresies    of    Publicola."      [Brown's]     Federal     Gazette,    Philadelphia, 
July,  1791.     It  was  this  journal  that  intimated   a  communication  between  John 
Adams  and  Burke,  and  asserted  that    Publicola  appeared  in  consequence  of  that 
communication. 

2  Columbian  Centinel,  July  27,  1791. 


io8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1791 

in  a  late  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Paine's,  which  are  supposed  to  be 
directly  opposite  to  principles  acknowledged  by  the  constitu 
tions  of  our  country.  And  the  author  challenges  all  the  writers 
who  have  appeared  in  support  of  Mr.  Paine's  infallibility,  to 
produce  a  single  passage  to  these  publications  which  has  the  most 
distant  tendency  to  recommend  either  a  monarchy  or  an  aristoc 
racy  to  the  citizens  of  these  States. 

The  writer  never  had  the  intention  to  defend  the  corruptions 
of  the  English  Constitution ;  nor  even  its  principles  in  theory, 
except  such  as  were  adopted  in  our  own.  Mr.  Paine  has  drawn 
a  comparison  between  certain  parts  of  the  English  and  French 
constitutions,  in  which  are  contained  principles  of  government, 
that  are  not  acknowledged  by  our  own  constitutions.  So  far  as 
the  principles  of  the  English  Constitution  have  been  adopted  by 
the  Americans,  I  have  defended  them,  and  I  am  firmly  convinced, 
that  we  cannot  renounce  them,  without  renouncing  at  the  same  time 
the  happy  governments  with  which  we  are  favored.  The  question 
of  superiority  between  the  French  and  English  constitutions,  has 
no  connection  with  a  question  relative  to  monarchy.  If  this  be 
true,  it  must  apply  equally  to  the  admirers  of  the  French  Constitu 
tion,  and  Mr.  Paine  himself  is  chargeable  with  having  supported  a 
monarchical  institution.  It  is  well  known  that  by  the  French 
Constitution,  a  standing  army  of  near  300,000  men  is  estab 
lished,  and  placed  beyond  the  annihilating  arm  of  legislature. 
Is  it  possible  that  Mr.  Paine  should  admire  this  Constitution,  with 
out  being  a  friend  to  standing  armies  ?  The  argument  is  the  same, 
and  the  assertion  might  be  made,  with  just  as  much  truth,  as  that 
PUBLICOLA  is  an  advocate  for  monarchy  or  for  aristocracy. 

When  Mr.  Paine  says  that  a  whole  nation  (by  which  it  is  ad 
mitted  that  he  means  a  majority  of  the  nation)  have  a  right  to 
do  what  it  chooses,  and  when  he  says  that  before  the  formation 
of  civil  society  every  man  has  a  natural  right  to  judge  in  his  own 
cause,  it  appears  to  me  that  he  resolves  all  right  into  power;  it 
is  this  opinion  which  I  have  combated,  because  it  appears  to  me 
to  be  of  the  most  pernicious  tendency,  and  if  it  is  not  really 


i79i]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  109 

contained  in  the  pamphlet,  I  confess  myself  greatly  mistaken. 
But  the  enlightened  writers,  who  have  defended  the  principles  of 
Mr.  Paine,  differ  so  essentially  in  the  ground  they  have  taken, 
that  the  one  or  the  other  would  certainly  have  been  charged  with 
propagating  detestable  heresies,  had  not  the  end  sanctified  the 
means,  and  the  object  of  defending  Mr.  Paine,  reconciled  the 
inconsistency  of  their  reasonings.  One  writer  supports  the  prin 
ciple  through  thick  and  thin;  and  tells  you  that  the  will  of  the 
contracting  parties  is  the  only  circumstance  that  makes  treaties 
obligatory.  Another  tells  you  that  I  have  grossly  misrepresented 
Mr.  Paine,  and  that  the  national  omnipotence  which  he  estab 
lishes  relates  only  to  the  internal  concerns  of  the  community.  He 
agrees,  however,  that  the  will  of  the  majority  must  be  taken  for 
the  will  of  the  whole  nation,  and  that  with  respect  to  the  forma 
tion  of  a  government,  a  majority  have  a  right  to  do  what  they 
please.  So  that  it  is  no  longer  the  "rights  of  men,"  but  the  rights 
of  the  majority  which  alone  are  unalienable. 

Upon  the  question  whether  a  constitution  government  can 
be  made  alterable  otherwise  than  by  the  people  in  their  original 
character,  I  have  defended  the  Constitutions  of  the  United  States 
against  the  principle  of  Mr.  Paine,  though  in  the  republication 
of  the  paper  in  several  of  the  southern  papers,  the  passage  which 
supports  my  opinion  by  the  authority  of  the  Constitution,  is 
omitted. 

Upon  the  article  of  representation,  I  have  contended  that  the 
French  representation  is  no  representation  of  the  people  at  all. 
Is  there  a  man  in  the  United  States  who  would  recommend  it  as  a 
model  to  us  ?  I  have  contended  that  our  representation  of  the 
people  is  infinitely  superior  both  to  the  French  and  the  English ; 
and  this  is  said  to  be  an  abominable  heresy. 

Upon  the  subject  of  monopolies,  of  game  laws,  and  of  exclusions 
from  the  legislature,  I  have  defended  the  principles  adopted  by  our 
own  constitutions,  and  not  the  abuses  of  the  English  Government. 
Upon  that  of  war  and  peace  I  have  done  the  same,  and  wherein  Mr. 
Paine's  observations  have  appeared  to  be  founded  upon  any  other 


no  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

foundation  than  truth,  I  have  endeavored  to  show  their  fallacy. 
But  a  defence  of  monarchy  or  aristocracy  was  no  more  in  my  inten 
tion,  than  the  defence  of  the  Salic  Law  of  descents  was  to  that  of 
Mr.  Paine. 

I  shall  now  conclude  these  papers  with  requesting  that  those 
only  who  read  them  would  judge  upon  their  principles ;  and 
I  am  well  persuaded,  that  the  candour  of  the  public  will  not  take 
misrepresentation  for  reason,  nor  invective  for  argument.1 


TO  THOMAS  BOYLSTON  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  February  ist,  1792. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  have  been  for  more  than  three 
weeks  indebted  to  you  for  two  very  agreeable  letters, 
which  Mr.  Otis  brought  from  you.  They  would  not  have 
remained  so  long  unanswered  but  for  a  variety  of  circum 
stances  which  have  concurred  to  engross  all  my  time  during 
that  period.  It  is  possible  that  you  may  have  observed  in 
the  Centinel  about  a  month  since,  that  a  Committee  of  21 
inhabitants  of  this  Town  was  chosen  in  town-meeting,2  to 
report  to  the  town  what  measures  it  might  be  proper  to 
take  in  order  to  reform  the  present  state  of  the  police  of 
the  town ;  and  you  may  have  noticed  that  my  name  was 

1  "Publicola  in  attempting  to  build  up  his  baneful  system  of  MONARCHY  and 
ARISTOCRACY,  has  in  a  most  wanton  manner,  attempted  to  raise  his  superstructure, 
on  the  ruins  both  of  the  REPUTATION  and  LIBERTIES  of  the  PEOPLE.     But  however 
this  writer  may  plead  in  behalf  of  a  KING  and  NOBILITY,  yet  the  PEOPLE  of  those 
countries,  it  is  not  doubted,  will  feel  their  weight    and  importance,  and  e'er  long 
exercise  their  natural  rights,  to  obtain  their  influence  in  the  scale  of  government. 

"I  believe  it  may  with  truth  be  said,  that  sentiments  so  derogatory  to  the 
dignity  of  the  people  have  not  been  propagated  in  this  country,  since  the  days  of 
Hutchinson ;  and  from  the  illiberality  of  the  observations,  and  their  horrid  conse 
quences,  I  dare  not  harbor  a  thought,  that  any  American,  much  more  a  RULER  of 
AMERICA,  is  so  lost  to  every  sentiment  of  propriety  and  decency,  as  to  be  the  author 
of  them."  "A  Republican,"  in  the  Independent  Chronicle,  July  21,  1791. 

2  Columbian  Centinel,  January  14,  1792.     The  meeting  was  held  on  the  I3th. 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  in 

among  those  of  several  of  the  most  respectable  characters 
in  this  town  upon  that  Committee ;  if  you  read  the  Cen- 
tinels  in  course  as  they  arrive,  you  must  have  seen  that  this 
Committee  reported  a  certain  plan,  which  after  being  de 
bated  in  town  meeting  for  three  days  was  finally  rejected 
by  the  votes  of  700  men  against  more  than  500  who  were 
in  favor  of  its  adoption.1  If  you  have  noticed  all  these 
circumstances,  it  is  probable  you  may  feel  some  degree  of 
curiosity  to  know  something  further  upon  the  subject: 
You  will  perhaps  wish  to  be  informed  what  it  is,  that  has 
thus  agitated  the  whole  town  of  Boston  these  five  or  six 
weeks,  how  it  happened  that  I  was  placed  upon  this  same 
Committee,  and  why  the  report  was  rejected.  I  will  tell 
you,  at  the  risque  of  fatiguing  you  with  a  tedious  narration, 
which  you  may  throw  aside  if  it  should  become  intolerable. 
The  Government  of  this  town,  in  its  corporate  capacity, 
like  that  of  all  the  other  towns  in  this  Commonwealth,  is  a 
pure  democracy;  all  the  affairs  of  the  town  are  transacted 
by  the  inhabitants  in  town  meeting  assembled,  or  by  com 
mittees  appointed  by  them ;  excepting  certain  powers 
which  are  vested  in  the  Select-men,  and  which  are  very 
immaterial.  The  by-laws  of  the  corporation  are  supposed 
to  be  enacted  by  the  whole  body  of  the  people,  and  to  be 
put  in  force  by  trials  before  Justices  of  the  Peace.  In  con 
sequence  of  this  system,  the  fact  is,  that  no  by-laws  are 
enforced  at  all,  and  the  inhabitants  arc  subjected  to  various 
inconveniences,  for  the  want  of  some  internal  regulation. 
Several  attempts  have  been  heretofore  made  to  introduce 
a  reformation,  and  to  induce  the  inhabitants  to  request  for 
a  city  charter.  Those  attempts  have  always  been  in 
effectual,  and  the  inconveniences  have  continued.  About 
six  weeks  since,  a  town  meeting  was  called,  where  after  a 

1  At  the  meeting  on  January  26.     The  vote  was  701  against  517. 


ii2  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

debate  upon  the  subject,  in  which  the  objects  to  be  reformed 
were  fully  laid  open  and  explained,  the  Committee,  which  I 
have  already  mentioned,  were  chosen.  It  was  a  subject 
upon  which  I  felt  altogether  uninterested,  having  been  so 
short  a  time  an  inhabitant  of  the  town,  and  suffering  per 
sonally  very  little  from  the  inconveniences  which  had  occa 
sioned  the  complaints  from  whence  that  town-meeting 
resulted.  I  happened  however  quite  accidentally  to  be 
present  at  the  meeting  and  was  nominated  by  Dr.  Jarvis,1 
to  be  a  member  of  the  Committee,  and  was  accordingly 
chosen.  He  was  indeed  the  last  man  in  this  town  from 
whom  I  should  have  expected  such  a  nomination,  and  I 
cannot  very  readily  account  for  his  motives.  Dr.  Welsh 
asked  him  what  his  object  was;  and  he  answered,  "that 
this  country  was  under  great  obligations  to  my  father, 
and  he  thought  it  very  proper  that  some  notice  should  be 
taken  of  his  son ;  that  he  observed  I  generally  attended 
the  town-meetings,  and  appeared  to  interest  myself  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town ;  that  I  was  a  sensible  young  man  " 
(excuse  the  vanity  of  the  relation)  "and  he  wished  to  hear 
my  sentiments  upon  this  subject."  I  mention  these  cir 
cumstances  because  it  will,  I  believe,  be  somewhat  surpris 
ing  to  your  father,  as  it  was  to  myself,  that  the  first  public 
notice  ever  shown  me  by  the  town  of  Boston  should 
proceed  from  the  nomination  of  Dr.  Jarvis.  I  may  now  pro 
ceed  to  the  transaction  of  the  business  itself.  The  Com 
mittee  met  several  times,  and  after  discussing  the  subject 
amply  and  deliberating  with  great  coolness  and  harmony 
agreed  upon  the  plan  which  was  proposed,  and  which  you 
have  perhaps  read.  The  agreement  was  unanimous,  with 
one  exception,  which  was  Mr.  B.  Austin,  commonly  called 
Honestus ;  he  set  his  face  against  the  reform  from  the 

1  Dr.  Charles  Jarvis  (1748-1807). 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  113 

beginning  and  did  not  agree  to  one  article  of  the  report. 
All  the  rest,  though  many  of  them  differing  widely  as  the 
poles,  in  most  of  their  political  sentiments,  were  fully 
agreed  upon  this  point.  When  the  report  was  debated  in 
town-meeting  Austin  opposed  it  with  the  utmost  degree  of 
vehemence  and  absurdity.  "It  was  to  destroy  the  liberties 
of  the  people ;  it  was  a  resignation  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
town;  it  was  a  link  in  the  chain  of  aristocratic  influence; 
it  was  intended  in  its  operation  to  throw  the  whole  burden 
of  taxation  upon  the  poor."  In  short  his  speeches  were 
such  a  farrago  of  nonsense  and  folly  that  it  was  hardly 
possible  to  imagine  they  could  have  any  effect  at  all.  On 
the  other  hand,  Sullivan  and  Jarvis  and  Otis  with  several 
other  gentlemen  argued  the  whole  subject  over  and  over 
with  more  popular  eloquence  than  I  ever  saw  exhibited 
upon  any  other  occasion ;  yet  upon  the  final  question,  the 
result  was  as  I  have  stated,  seven  hundred  men,  who  looked 
as  if  they  had  been  collected  from  all  the  jails  on  the  con 
tinent,  with  Ben.  Austin  like  another  Jack  Cade  at  their 
head,  outvoted  by  their  numbers  all  the  combined  weight 
and  influence  of  wealth  and  abilities  and  of  integrity,  of 
the  whole  town.  From  the  whole  event  I  have  derived 
some  instruction,  and  above  all  a  confirmation  of  my  abhor 
rence  and  contempt  of  simple  democracy  as  a  Government ; 
but  I  took  no  part  in  the  debate.  It  was  indeed  a  very 
good  opportunity,  that  was  offered  me,  of  opening  a  political 
career,  especially  as  I  had  been  put  upon  the  Committee; 
but  for  a  variety  of  reasons  I  chose  at  least  to  postpone  to 
some  future  period,  my  appearance  as  a  speaker  in  town 
meeting;  the  principal  of  which  was  a  want  of  confidence 
in  myself,  which  operated  most  forcibly  upon  me.  I  hope, 
however,  the  time  will  come,  when  I  shall  not  be  so  much 
oppressed  by  my  diffidence. 


ii4  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1792 

But  the  sequel  of  the  story  is  no  less  curious  than  the  rest. 
The  day  after  the  question  was  decided,  Russell  the  printer1 
demanded  of  Austin,  in  the  public  street,  satisfaction,  for 
a  personal  insult  he  had  received  from  him  at  the  town- 
meeting  ;  and  upon  Austin's  refusing  to  give  satisfaction, 
Russell  treated  him  with  every  possible  indignity,  and 
gave  him  a  severe  corporeal  bruising :  upon  which  Austin 
spread  abroad  that  Russell  was  the  mere  instrument  of 
aristocratic  revenge,  and  that  he  did  not  act  from  resentment 
for  his  own  injury,  but  at  the  instigation  of  a  few  rich  men, 
who  were  enraged  at  seeing  the  success  with  which  he  had 
advocated  the  cause  of  the  people.  And  such  was  the  obse 
quious  servility  of  his  rabble,  that  in  consequence  of  this 
suggestion,  several  hundreds  of  them  assembled  the  same 
evening;  threatened  to  pull  down  Russell's  printing  office, 
and  the  houses  of  the  aristocrats  who  wished  to  enslave  the 
people,  and  actually  paraded  the  streets  with  clubs,  and 
with  violent  menaces  for  two  or  three  hours ;  however  they 
did  no  real  mischief,  and  the  matter  seems  now  to  have 
blown  over  pretty  generally ;  though  the  partizans  on  both 
sides  are  still  warm  and  ready  to  quarrel.  I  have  from  the 
beginning  taken  the  part  of  a  spectator  rather  than  that 
of  an  actor  in  the  scene,  and  I  think  the  whole  affair  has 
given  me  some  additional  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

The  present  is  quite  a  busy  time  in  our  political  world; 
there  are  several  other  subjects  upon  which  I  could  write 
you  other  letters  as  long  and  as  tedious  as  this ;  but  I  must 
reserve  some  of  my  information  for  your  father,  to  whom 
I  am  ashamed  not  to  have  written  this  long  time.  I  intend 
soon  to  give  him  some  account  of  another  occurrence, 
which  has  made  not  a  little  political  agitation  in  our  atmos 
phere. 

1  Benjamin  Russell,  publisher  of  the  Columbian  Centinel. 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  115 

I  have  not  much  more  to  say  to  you  respecting  myself. 
Our  Court  of  Common  Pleas  have  sat  again  since  I  wrote 
you ;  I  argued  one  more  cause,  and  was  successful.  I 
gain  my  causes,  but  I  get  no  business  :  that  is  at  as  low  an 
ebb  as  ever,  but  I  am  tolerably  habituated  to  the  lot,  and 
say,  with  Ancient  Pistol,  "si  fortuna  me  tormenta,  il  sperare 
me  contenta." 

The  petition  from  the  North  Parish  in  Braintree  is  hitherto 
successful.  The  Committee  of  the  General  Court  before 
whom  I  mentioned  to  you  our  having  argued  the  point, 
reported  in  favour  of  the  petitioners  :  the  bill  for  incor 
porating  the  town  of  Quincy,  has  past  the  Senate  and  is 
now  before  the  House  of  Representatives.  Hichborn  l  has 
been  indefatigable  in  his  opposition  to  the  business  in  every 
stage  of  it,  but  has  not  yet  been  able  to  defeat  us.  The 
question  will  not  be  finally  decided  till  next  week. 

Mr.  Cranch  has  been  in  town  about  a  fortnight  upon 
this  affair,  and  attending  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
He  has  recovered  to  all  appearance  from  his  sickness,  though 
he  does  not  look  so  healthy,  or  in  such  spirits,  as  he  was 
wont.  Our  other  friends  are  all  well. 

Your  brother. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  February  4th,  1792. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

A  variety  of  circumstances  have  occurred  since  you  left 
this  part  of  the  country,  which  have  combined  to  change 
in  some  measure  the  state  of  our  parties  in  the  State.  You 
have  probably  heard  of  them  from  other  quarters,  and 
ought  to  have  heard  of  them  before  this  from  me.  I  will 

'Benjamin  Hichborn,  representative  from  Dorchester. 


ii6  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

endeavor  to  retrieve  as  far  as  possible  my  former  deficiency, 
and  to  give  an  account  of  the  present  situation  of  affairs 
here,  so  far  as  I  can  collect  my  information  from  public 
report. 

In  the  month  of  October  a  town  meeting  was  held  in 
this  town,  wherein  it  was  voted  to  petition  our  General 
Court  for  a  repeal  of  the  law  prohibiting  theatrical  exhibi 
tions.  The  vote  was  carried  by  a  large  majority;  but  the 
party  opposed  to  the  measure  was  numerous,  and  a  counter- 
petition,  signed  by  more  than  three  hundred  persons  was 
presented  to  the  legislature  at  the  same  time  with  the 
petition  for  the  repeal.  Upon  this  subject  the  Lieutenant 
Governor,  and  Dr.  Jarvis  were  upon  the  opposite  sides  of 
the  question,  and  debated  the  point  so  warmly  together 
that  a  coolness  it  is  said  has  ensued  between  them  since 
that  time.  This  however  is  a  matter  of  small  moment  in 
comparison  with  another  event  which  has  produced  a  more 
extraordinary  variance. 

When  the  vacancy  upon  the  bench  of  our  Supreme  Ju 
dicial  Court,  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Judge  Sargeant,1 
was  to  be  filled  up,  the  Governor  was  sollicited  by  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Dawes  (by  his  father  particularly,  and  perhaps  by 
himself)  to  fix  upon  him  for  the  office ;  and  whether  from 
motives  of  personal  friendship,  or  from  pecuniary  obliga 
tions,  or  from  an  idea  of  the  family  influence  of  the  man  and 
a  wish  to  secure  it  in  his  own  favor,  or  whatever  his  reasons 
were,  he  did,  without  consulting  an  individual  member  of 
the  Council,  or  any  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  or 
even  his  confidential  favorite  and  adviser,  Sullivan,  nomi 
nate  Mr.  Dawes.  The  nomination  met  with  universal  dis 
approbation.  The  bench,  the  bar,  and  the  people  at  large 
in  every  part  of  the  state  were  dissatisfied.  The  opinion 

1  Nathaniel  Peaslee  Sargeant  (1731-1791). 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  117 

that  Dawes  was  not  a  proper  man  for  the  office  was  uni 
versal,  and  the  importance  of  the  office  itself  greatly  in 
creased  the  discontent  which  the  nomination  occasioned. 
That  discontent  however  would  have  evaporated  in  a  mo 
mentary  censure  of  the  levity  and  caprice  of  the  Governor, 
as  it  has  upon  many  former  occasions,  had  not  the  arrange 
ment  interfered  with  the  views  of  private  interest,  and  with 
the  designs  of  faction.  From  the  first  moment  of  the  nomi 
nation,  it  has  met  with  an  avowed  and  determined  opposi 
tion  from  Sullivan  and  from  Judge  Dana,  who  appear  even 
to  have  joined  in  a  sort  of  combination  to  obstruct  the 
progress  of  the  appointment.  Sullivan  has  clamored  in  all 
his  private  conversations,  has  scribbled  anonymously  in  the 
newspapers,  has  personally  urged  Mr.  Dawes  to  decline  the 
appointment,  and  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  Governor,  per 
suading  him  to  withdraw  the  nomination  ;  and  he  has  so 
decidedly  and  perseveringly  pursued  this  line  of  conduct, 
that  an  actual  rupture  has  taken  place  between  him  and  the 
Governor.  Nay,  I  have  some  reason  to  conjecture  that  he 
has  serious  thoughts  of  advancing  as  a  candidate  for  the 
chair  himself  in  opposition  to  the  present  possessor.  The 
pretext  of  his  violent  opposition  to  Dawes  is  an  ardent  zeal 
for  the  dignity  of  the  State.  And  as  an  enemy  of  the 
national  government  his  principle  is  certainly  well  founded. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  has  lost  much  of  the  venera 
tion  of  the  people  by  a  former  appointment.1  It  is  indeed 
surprising  how  that  diminution  of  confidence  has  in  so  short 
a  period  of  time  since  the  last  change  pervaded  every  part 
of  the  Commonwealth ;  and  the  mortification  of  the  party 
is  greatly  aggravated  by  the  respectability  of  the  national 
courts,  and  the  growing  attachment  of  the  people  to  them. 
In  addition  to  this  it  is  said  that  Sullivan  expected  that  the 

1  Of  Nathan  Gushing. 


ii8  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1792 

salaries  of  our  judges  would,  before  the  vacancy  should  be 
filled  up,  be  raised  to  £500,  in  which  case  he  would  have 
stood  ready  to  take  the  place  himself,  and  in  the  opinion 
of  many  people  his  disappointment  in  this  particular  has 
exceedingly  sharpened  his  zeal  for  the  dignity  of  the  State. 
Of  Judge  Dana  I  feel  myself  always  obliged  in  duty,  and 
from  personal  attachment,  to  speak  with  respect  and 
reverence;  but  in  writing  to  you  upon  the  state  of  our 
politics  I  must  not  conceal  the  opinions  which  are  held 
with  respect  to  the  motives  of  his  conduct.  He  has  been 
equally  open  and  decided  against  Mr.  Dawes  with  Sullivan, 
and  equally  active  in  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  appoint 
ment.  His  patriotism  and  public  spirit  are  allowed,  and 
admitted  as  being  much  more  forcible  principles  to  actuate 
him  than  Sullivan ;  but  the  peculiar  earnestness  and  even 
virulence  with  which  he  pursues  Dawes  at  present,  has 
given  occasion  to  a  suggestion  that  the  prospect  of  failing 
to  obtain  an  augmentation  of  his  salary,  contributed  not  a 
little  to  give  additional  vigor  to  his  patriotic  ardor.  His 
eyes  as  well  as  those  of  Sullivan  are  supposed  to  be  fixed 
upon  the  chair  of  State,  and  possibly  he  may  anticipate  an 
increase  of  his  own  popularity  by  maintaining  a  contest 
against  an  unpopular  measure.  The  views  of  the  two  men 
are  so  widely  different,  and  indeed  so  irreconcileable  together, 
that  they  cannot  long  act  in  concert.  But  as  the  object  of 
keeping  Dawes  from  the  bench  is  a  favorite  point  with  both, 
they  have  apparently  formed  a  coalition  for  this  particular 
purpose.  They  have  both  endeavored  to  persuade  Dawes 
to  decline ;  both  used  all  their  influence  with  the  members 
of  the  council,  that  the  nomination  might  be  disapprobated, 
but  in  vain.  To  decline  an  appointment  which  he  had 
sollicited,  and  obtained  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of 
Sullivan's  influence  with  the  Governor,  would  in  Dawes's 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  119 

opinion  betray  a  want  of  spirit  on  his  part,  and  after  get 
ting  so  good  hold  of  the  public  loaf,  he  has  no  disposition 
to  relinquish  it.  The  Council,  though  most  of  them  were 
dissatisfied,  yet  would  not  by  passing  a  negative  upon  the 
Governor's  choice,  cast  a  stigma  upon  the  character  of  a 
man  whom  they  considered  as  only  unequal  to  the  office ; 
and  as  to  the  Governor  himself,  in  addition  to  all  the  motives 
which  originally  operated  to  determine  his  election,  he  is 
now  induced  from  obstinacy  and  resentment  to  support  the 
man  whom  he  brought  forward.  Dawes  is  therefore  ap 
pointed  and  has  accepted  the  appointment.  Mr.  Dana 
however  does  not  yet  give  the  point.  At  the  same  time 
when  Mr.  Dawes  was  nominated,  Dana  was  appointed  to 
the  vacant  seat  of  Chief  Justice  ;  but  he  has  not  yet  accepted, 
and  it  is  said  he  intends  actually  to  decline  accepting  it, 
and  that,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  in  question  the  legal 
ity  of  Dawes's  appointment.  Our  law  says  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  be  held  by  one  Chief  Justice  and  four  other 
justices,  and  the  inference  is  that  as  there  were  four  other 
justices  at  the  time  whem  Mr.  Dana  was  nominated,  the 
Governor  had  no  right  to  propose  a  fifth  until  the  Chief 
Justice  had  declared  his  acceptance,  and  taken  the  oath  of 
office.  Thus  the  affair  now  rests,  and  the  result  of  all  the 
plots  and  counterplots  will  probably  appear  in  the  course  of 
three  or  four  weeks,  when  the  next  session  of  the  Supreme 
Court  is  to  be  held  in  this  town.1 

I  wrote  to  my  brother  by  the  last  post  an  account  of  an- 

1  "  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  it  is  said,  intend  to  oust  Dawes  by  Dana's 
refusing  or  delaying  to  accept  the  office  of  Chief  Justice.  They  say  there  was  no 
vacancy  when  Dawes  was  nominated  and  appointed,  and  that  all  have  agreed  to 
refuse  an  appeal  to  the  chair  if  offered  them;  by  which  means  it  is  probable  the 
Governor  may  be  brought  to  say  he  had  no  authority  to  nominate  D[awes],  and  our 
little  friend  be  compelled  to  recede."  Gore  to  King,  February  I,  1792.  Life  and 
Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  406. 


120  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

other  transaction,  which  has  occasioned  much  altercation  in 
this  town,  and  has  also  contributed  to  widen  the  difference 
in  the  party.  Sullivan  and  Jarvis  strenuously  supported 
the  system  that  was  proposed,  and  it  was  opposed  violently 
by  Ben.  Austin  and  by  the  influence  of  the  Lieutenant 
Governor,  though  he  did  not  publicly  appear  against  it. 
The  parties  were  very  severe  upon  each  other  in  the  public 
town  meetings,  and  are  said  to  be  still  at  variance,  but 
whether  from  a  sense  of  necessity  for  the  mutual  support  of 
their  own  importance,  and  of  their  hostile  spirit  to  the  na 
tional  government,  they  will  again  come  together,  or  whether 
they  will  continue  to  separate  until  a  complete  disunion  and 
opposition  of  pursuit  shall  ensue,  must  be  left  to  the  deter 
mination  of  time. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  December  8,  1792. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

Our  electors  met  in  this  town  on  Wednesday  last,  and 
their  votes  for  President  and  Vice  President  were  unani 
mous.  This  was  generally  expected  here,  and  the  event  is 
supposed  to  have  been  nearly  if  not  wholly  the  same  in  all 
the  New  England  states.  New  York  it  is  imagined  was 
unanimous  for  Mr.  Clinton  as  V[ice]  President].  Their 
electors  are  chosen  by  their  legislature,  where  their  Governor 
has  a  bare  majority,  determined  to  support  upon  all  occasions 
his  party  and  his  politics.  From  the  other  states  you  will 
probably  hear  before  us.  And  upon  the  whole  I  presume 
the  election  will  be  favorable.1 

The  Governor  has  at  length  prevailed  in  routing  the  play- 

1  Washington  received  a  unanimous  vote  of  132.  The  vote  for  Vice-President 
was  thus  divided:  Adams,  77;  Clinton,  50;  Jefferson,  4;  Burr,  I. 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  121 

ers.  On  Wednesday  the  Attorney  General J  received  orders 
from  him  and  the  Council  to  prosecute  the  violators  of  the 
laws  immediately.  He  applied  for  a  warrant  to  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  returnable  before  two  Justices  of  the  quorum. 
The  sheriff  arrested  one  of  the  actors  2  behind  the  scenes  in 
the  course  of  the  play  on  Wednesday  evening,  and  informed 
the  company  that  unless  they  dispersed  immediately  he 
should  arrest  all  the  other  performers  for  the  evening.  The 
company  immediately  assumed  the  form  of  a  deliberative 
assembly,  and  debated  the  question,  whether  they  should 
retire  or  direct  the  players  to  proceed  and  bid  defiance  to  the 
sheriff.  They  concluded  that  obedience  to  the  law  was  the 
safest  party  and  withdrew,  not  without  many  imprecations 
against  the  Governor  and  the  law  upon  which  they  were 
interrupted.  The  next  morning  the  examination  upon  the 
warrant  was  to  take  place,  and  the  justices3  met  at  Faneuil 
Hall,  their  own  offices  being  too  small  and  the  Court  House 
occupied  by  the  district  court.  The  Hall  was  about  half 
full  of  spectators  who  took  every  opportunity  to  express 
their  disapprobation  of  the  proceedings.  An  objection  was 
taken  by  Mr.  Otis,  counsel  for  the  defendant,  to  the  warrant, 
as  not  being  founded  upon  oath,  but  only  upon  an  official 
complaint  of  the  Attorney  General.  Whether  Sullivan 
committed  the  blunder  from  ignorance  or  from  inattention, 
or  from  design,  is  doubtful,  but  the  by-standers  enjoyed  a 
hearty  laugh  at  his  expense.  He  has  affected  a  kind  of 
neutrality  upon  this  occasion  and  has  avoided  giving  offence 
to  cither  party  by  being  active  on  either  side.  It  was  sup 
posed  by  many  persons  that  he  proceeded  thus  irregularly 
on  purpose  to  give  the  players  an  opportunity  to  escape,  and 
he  himself  wishes  to  have  it  understood  that  he  acts  only  in 
consequence  of  express  directions  from  the  Governor  and 

1  James  Sullivan.  2  Harper.  *  Joseph  Greenleaf  and  Samuel  Barrett. 


122  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

Council.  The  objection  however  prevailed,  and  the  player 
who  had  been  arrested  was  discharged  amid  the  loud  and 
very  improper  plaudits  of  the  audience.  Justice  Barrett 
with  proper  spirit  reproved  their  conduct  in  the  Hall,  upon 
which  they  were  quiet ;  but  as  soon  as  they  got  out  of  the 
Hall  they  closed  the  business  with  three  huzzas.  The  play 
ers  in  the  meantime  had  taken  the  alarm  and  most  of  them 
are  gone ;  so  that  I  hope  we  shall  have  no  more  altercations 
upon  this  subject.1  .  .  . 

1  Sullivan  gave  a  history  of  the  law  in  his  communication  to  the  Chronicle: 
"  In  the  year  1742,  there  was  an  interval  of  peace,  and  the  country  flourished.  The 
town  of  Boston  was  nearly  as  numerous  as  it  now  is;  but  the  Legislature  of  that 
day  thought  it  proper  to  pass  the  act  under  consideration.  It  was  made  a  temporary 
act,  because  the  Crown  of  England,  which  had  a  negative  upon  all  our  laws  at  that 
time,  would  never  have  consented  to  a  permanent  prohibition  of  that  kind.  The 
act  was  several  times  revived  before  the  present  constitution;  and  in  the  year  1785, 
since  the  existence  of  the  Commonwealth,  it  was  revived  and  continued  in  force, 
until  the  year  1797.  In  the  year  1791,  the  town  of  Boston,  in  town-meeting, 
instructed  their  Representatives  to  procure  a  repeal  of  it,  if  it  could  be  effected : 
And  a  large  number  of  inhabitants  subscribed  and  presented  a  petition  against  the 
repeal.  The  whole  subject  was  committed  to  a  committee,  who  reported  against 
the  repeal.  Upon  the  question,  whether  the  report  should  be  accepted,  two  of  the 
Boston  members  exerted  their  abilities  to  procure  a  repeal;  but  they  could  not 
obtain  a  vote  in  favor  of  it.  ...  Perhaps  the  majority  would  not  have  been  so 
great,  if  a  particular  member  of  foreign  education,  had  not  affronted  the  House,  by 
ridiculing  the  habits  and  manners  of  the  people."  When  some  players  came  from 
the  southward,  and,  in  August,  1792,  opened  a  theatre  in  a  newly  constructed  build 
ing  in  Board  Alley,  the  Grand  Jury  took  no  action,  nor  did  any  individual  suggest 
a  civil  suit,  but  the  Governor  [Hancock]  mentioned  the  circumstance  in  his  speech 
to  the  Legislature,  and  the  General  Court  informed  him  they  expected  the  law  to 
be  supported.  No  Justice  could  be  found  to  convict  on  the  complaint  of  the  At 
torney-General,  and  the  players  withdrew  and  closed  their  theatre.  Independent 
Chronicle,  December  13,  1792. 


i792]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  123 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  December  16,  1792. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

I  received  last  evening  your  favor  of  the  5th  instant. 
The  votes  of  the  electors  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island 
were  unanimous  it  seems,  as  well  as  in  this  State.  I  have 
not  heard  any  further,  but  we  presume  there  was  the  same 
unanimity  in  New  Hampshire,  which  if  it  be  the  case  will  I 
think  do  credit  to  New  England.  We  expect  nothing  but 
the  voice  of  faction  from  New  York,  and  we  know  not  enough 
what  the  disposition  of  the  Southern  States  was. 

I  gave  you  in  my  last  some  account  of  the  Governor's 
having  at  length  succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  players ; 
but  some  other  circumstances  have  taken  place  which  at 
that  time  I  had  not  heard.  Two  days  after  the  arrest  of  the 
player  which  I  mentioned  in  my  last,  those  who  still  re 
mained  had  announced  another  play,  but  upon  being  advised 
by  their  own  friends  to  desist,  they  postponed  the  perform 
ance.  At  night  however  a  mob  of  about  two  hundred  people 
collected  together  and  went  up  to  the  Governor's  house  to 
ask  his  leave  to  pull  down  the  play-house.  Upon  their 
approach  towards  his  house,  the  family  were  thrown  into 
great  consternation,  upon  the  idea  that  they  were  of  the 
other  party,  and  were  coming  to  insult  him.  He  received, 
however,  a  deputation  from  them  and,  as  it  is  said,  au 
thorised  them  to  proceed  upon  their  riotous  design.  They 
accordingly  went  and  began  to  destroy  the  fences  round  the 
house,  but  were  soon  dispersed  by  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of 
the  other  party,  who  went  among  them  with  the  riot  act  in 
his  pocket,  ready  to  read  it  to  them  if  there  had  been  occa 
sion.  There  has  been  since  then  no  further  attempt  to  act 
more  plays,  and  all  the  actors  are  now  gone. 


i24  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

But  the  Governor  and  his  instruments  were  not  content 
with  this  victory.  They  must  appeal  to  the  public  for 
approbation  of  all  his  conduct  on  the  occasion  and  for  cen 
sure  upon  that  of  the  opposers  to  the  law ;  and  Sullivan 
with  the  intrepidity  of  face  peculiar  to  himself  came  forward 
in  last  Thursday's  paper,1  under  the  signature  of  a  Friend 
to  Peace,  with  the  professed  design  to  criminate  the  breakers 
of  the  statute  and  to  justify  the  executive  authority.  You 
will  probably  see  in  the  two  next  Centinels  a  couple  of  pieces 
signed  Menander  in  answer  to  him.  I  presume  he  will  reply 
but  I  think  the  discussion  must  terminate  unfavorably  to 
him.  The  subject  cannot  be  very  interesting  to  you,  but 
perhaps  an  interest  in  the  success  of  the  writer  may  induce 
you  to  peruse  the  discussion.  I  will  send  you  the  publica 
tion  of  the  Friend  to  Peace  by  the  next  post,  and  as  you  will 
receive  the  Centinel  regularly  you  will  there  find  the  answers 
of  Menander. 

The  unanimity  of  the  electors  in  this  State  was  by  all 
accounts  a  sore  mortification  to  his  State  majesty.  It 
angered  him  to  the  heart  and  he  vented  his  peevishness 
upon  the  first  objects  that  presented  themselves  to  him. 
It  was  on  the  same  day  with  the  election  that  he  made  his 
attack  upon  the  players.  He  made  several  difficulties  about 
signing  the  warrant  upon  the  treasury  for  the  pay  of  the 
electors,  and  delayed  until  a  third  message  from  them  was 
accompanied  with  an  intimation  to  him  that  unless  he 
signed  the  warrant  immediately,  they  should  go  to  their 
homes  without  receiving  their  pay  at  all.  This  implied 
menace  had  its  effect,  and  he  signed  the  warrant.  But  he 
has  affected  to  be  much  alarmed  for  his  own  safety,  and  to  be 
in  terror  lest  a  mob  should  attack  his  person  or  his  house. 
There  have  been  in  the  public  prints  several  foolish  inflamma- 

1  The  Chronicle. 


1792]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  125 

tory  squibs  threatening  him  with  tar  and  feathers  or  with 
breaking  his  windows ;  but  they  have  been  treated  with 
general  contempt,  and  there  has  not  been  the  slightest 
symptom  of  any  popular  excesses  against  him,  though  he 
has  endeavored  to  excite  them  in  support  of  his  whimsical 
passion  against  the  theatre. 

A  French  and  English  newspaper  has  been  commenced 
in  this  town  which  is  to  contain  among  other  things  a  sum 
mary  account  of  the  French  Revolution.1  This  account  is 
very  handsomely  written  by  one  of  the  Aristocratic  party 
now  here,  having  been  driven  from  the  Island  of  St.  Domingo 
by  the  triumphant  faction  there.2  He  has  aimed  at  im 
partiality  as  much  as  he  could  ;  but  if  you  read  the  narrative 
you  will  find  he  is  very  bitter  against  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
to  whom  he  attributes  all  the  calamities  of  his  country. 
The  first  number  only  has  been  published,  and  the  editor 
has  forwarded  one  of  them  to  you  which  he  will  continue 
to  do.  The  translation  of  that  part  of  the  paper  will  be 
done  by  me,  and  I  imagine  the  paper  itself  will  not  be  con 
tinued  long  after  that  publication  is  finished.  The  pro 
posals  are  only  for  six  months. 

I  hope  you  will  not  consider  me  as  trifling  with  my  time 
for  spending  it  in  translating  French  politics  and  discussing 
theatrical  questions.  My  pen  has  lain  dormant  for  nearly  a 
year  and  a  half,  and  perhaps  its  revival  may  with  some 
propriety  be  by  essays  upon  subjects  not  of  the  first  magni 
tude.  There  has  been  upon  my  mind  a  strong  sentiment 
of  delicacy  which  has  kept  me  silent  in  the  midst  of  all  the 

JThc  Courier  dt  rUnirers,  the  second  newspaper  in  French  published  at  Boston. 
The  first  was  the  Courier  de  Boston,  published  by  Nancrede,  the  instructor  in  French 
at  Harvard  College,  and  issued  its  first  number  April  23,  1789,  but  received  too 
little  support  for  its  continuance. 

*  Probably  a  M.  d'Hauteval,  to  whom  Adams  gave  a  note  of  introduction  to  hi» 
father,  January  5,  1793. 


126  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

scurrility  of  which  you  have  been  the  object.  The  charges 
which  private  malice  and  public  faction  have  employed  as 
instruments  against  you,  have  been  so  despicable  in  them 
selves,  that  common  sense  and  common  honesty  must  have 
felt  some  degradation  in  descending  to  the  refutation  of 
them.  I  have  thought  that  where  they  could  have  any 
possible  effect,  sober  reason  and  plain  truth  could  not 
counteract  it,  because  the  minds  affected  must  be  too  blind 
or  too  wicked  to  feel  the  operation  of  just  sentiments.1 
The  event  of  the  election  as  far  as  we  know  it  has  corroborated 
my  opinion.  As  to  the  general  measures  of  the  federal 
government,  when  I  have  seen  them  attacked  artfully  and 
insidiously,  as  has  frequently  been  the  case,  I  have  often 
thought  of  defending  them,  but  as  often  have  concluded 
that  my  assistance  could  not  be  necessary  and  could  be  but 
feeble.  The  government  I  supposed  needed  it  not,  and  as 
to  my  own  advancement  I  could  really  see  nothing  in  public 
life  but  what  it  was  my  object  to  avoid.  I  have  been  really 
apprehensive  of  becoming  politically  known,  before  I  could 
establish  a  professional  reputation.  I  knew  that  my  inde 
pendence  and  consequently  my  happiness  in  life  depended 

1  In  September  King  had  noted  that  Washington  would  be  rechosen  without 
opposition;  " whether  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Adams  will  combine  their  opposition 
I  consider  as  uncertain.  Should  this  be  the  case  Clinton  will  be  their  man." 
In  New  York  Burr  was  intriguing,  and,  as  Hamilton  believed,  in  favor  of 
Clinton  and  against  Adams;  but  his  operations  extended  to  Connecticut,  where 
Edwards  took  an  interest  in  him,  and  to  Pennsylvania,  where  Dallas  supported  his 
ambitions.  As  between  these  two  aspirants  Hamilton  preferred  Clinton,  who  had 
invariably  been  an  enemy  of  national  principles,  to  Burr,  who  was  marked  by  an 
absence  of  all  principle.  He  wrote,  however,  decidedly  in  favor  of  Adams,  who 
"whatever  objections  may  lie  against  some  of  his  theoretic  opinions,  is  a  firm, 
honest,  and  independent  politician."  See  also  his  letter  to  Adams,  in  Works  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  (Lodge),  VIII.  290.  King  believed  "for  no  good  that  any 
support  be  given  to  the  project  of  Mr.  Adams'  degradation."  Life  and  Correspon 
dence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  426,  430. 


1792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  127 

upon  this,  and  I  have  sincerely  wished  rather  to  remain  in 
the  shade  than  to  appear  as  a  politician  without  any  char 
acter  as  a  lawyer.  These  sentiments  have  still  great  weight 
in  my  mind,  and  if  therefore  you  should  think  me  squander 
ing  my  attention  upon  subjects  of  too  trivial  import,  I  hope 
you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  it  is  not  for  want  of 
judgment  in  my  comparative  estimation  of  things.  .  .  . 

MENANDER 1 

.  .  .  The  submission  of  the  minority  to  the  will  of  the  majority, 
he2  supposes  to  be  the  essence  of  a  free  government ;  and  the  will  of 
the  majority  he  thinks  is  only  to  be  collected  from  the  suffrages 
of  the  constitutional  legislature:  Or  if  that  legislature  should 
themselves  overstep  the  constitutional  bounds,  a  case  which,  he 
admits,  may  happen,  he  points  to  the  remedy  provided,  by  a  re 
currence  to  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court.  But  his  principle  in  the 
full  latitude  to  which  he  extends  it  is  not  true;  and,  if  it  were, 
it  does  not  prove  the  position  in  support  of  which  it  is  advanced. 
In  a  free  government  the  minority  never  can  be  under  an  obligation 
to  sacrifice  their  rights  to  the  will  of  the  majority,  however  ex 
pressed.  The  constitution  of  this  State  is  expressly  paramount 
to  the  laws  of  the  legislature,  and  every  individual  in  the  commu 
nity  has  the  same  right  with  the  legislature  to  put  his  own  honest  con 
struction  upon  every  clause  contained  in  the  constitution.  Every  indi 
vidual  ought  to  regulate  his  conduct  upon  such  occasions  by  his  own 
construction,  and  if  that  construction  militates  with  that  of  the  legis 
lature,  he  has  an  indisputable  right  to  violate  their  laws  predicated 
upon  their  construction.  If  this  be  true  the  conduct  of  those  citizens 
of  Boston,  who  from  a  cold  and  deliberate  opinion  that  the  law 
prohibiting  theatrical  entertainments  is  unconstitutional,  have 
attended  the  exhibitions  in  Board-Alley,  is  not  unjustifiable.  For 
as  to  the  violent  measures  which  the  Friend  to  Peace  mentions  as 
having  been  resorted  to,  they  have  all  been  on  the  part  of  the 

1  Columbian  Cfntintl,  December  19,  1792.  "James  Sullivan. 


128  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

government.  That  the  law  was  openly  violated  is  true,  and 
from  the  nature  of  the  case  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  But  if 
disobedience  was  justifiable  at  all,  the  publickness  of  that  diso 
bedience  could  not  make  it  unjustifiable.  So  far  have  the  friends 
to  the  theatre  been  from  deserving  the  charge  of  resorting  to 
violent  measures,  that  they  even  avoided  resistance  against 
the  violent  measures  which  were  adopted  against  them,  and  by 
an  example  of  moderation  very  honorable  to  them,  preferred  to 
make  the  sacrifice  of  their  pleasures,  and  rather  than  contend  with 
the  strength  of  that  law,  the  justice  of  which  they  could  not  acknowl 
edge. 

But  the  Friend  to  Peace  mentions  to  them  another  remedy,  by 
recommending  a  trial  before  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court.  And 
is  this  recommendation  made  in  order  to  prove  their  conduct 
unjustifiable  in  violating  the  law  ?  Does  it  not  rather  prove  the 
absurdity  of  his  own  censures  upon  the  public  manner  in  which  the 
law  has  been  violated  ?  At  one  moment  he  cries  out  "Where  are 
the  champions  for  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  law?"  And 
at  another  he  charges  them  with  resorting  to  violent  measures, 
merely  because  they  come  forward  too  boldly,  and  challenge  its 
penalties  by  an  open  violation.  He  acknowledges  that  the  only 
determination  of  the  constitutional  question  must  be,  by  a  Jury 
under  the  direction  of  the  Judges,  and  yet  he  denominates  violent 
measures  the  action  without  which  that  determination  cannot  be 
had.  The  proposal  that  any  individual  who  has  broken  the  law 
should  consent  to  have  an  information  filed  against  him,  is  some 
what  singular.  A  writer  who  talks  so  much  about  free  govern 
ments,  methinks  should  have  been  more  cautious  in  proposing 
such  an  expedient  to  men  who  complain  of  a  deprivation  off  con 
stitutional  rights.  In  order  to  prove  that  they  have  acted  unjustifi 
ably  by  the  breach  of  a  law,  he  tells  them  they  ought  to  assume  to 
themselves  the  duties  of  the  Attorney  General,  to  accuse  them 
selves  ;  that  they  ought  to  consent  to  a  mode  of  proceeding  which 
in  his  own  opinion  is  dangerous  in  any  government,  when  that 
mode  of  proceeding  is  pursued  directly  against  themselves.  The 


i792]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  129 

friends  of  the  Drama,  Sir,  are  under  no  obligation,  civil,  political 
or  moral,  to  court  the  animadversion  of  the  law.  When  Mr. 
Hampden  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  first,  refused  to  pay  the  ship 
money,  he  did  not  go  to  the  star  chamber,  and  complain  of  his  own 
refusals.  A  tax  of  twenty  shillings  was  assessed  upon  him,  which 
he  held  to  be  illegal.  The  twelve  Judges  of  England  had  already 
delivered  their  opinions  that  the  tax  was  legal.  Mr.  Hampden 
refused  to  pay  it.  His  violation  of  what  the  Judges  had  declared 
to  be  law  was  open  and  public,  but  he  did  not  solicit  the  prosecu 
tion  which  he  sustained.  The  cases  appear  to  me  to  be  nearly 
parallel.  The  friends  of  the  theatre  in  Boston  have  publicly 
contravened  an  act  of  the  legislature,  which  they  do  not  consider 
as  the  law  of  the  land  ;  they  have  not  eluded  the  regular  and  con 
stitutional  discussion  of  the  point;  they  have  not  betrayed  a 
consciousness  of  doing  wrong,  by  shrouding  themselves  in  secrecy; 
they  have  not  fled  from  the  vengeance  of  the  government  which  they 
have  provoked  ;  they  have  not  shrunk  from  beneath  the  gigantic 
arm,  which  has  been  raised  in  "attitude  to  smite"  against  them; 
but  an  invitation  to  become  necessary  to  a  prosecution  against 
themselves;  a  request  that  they  would  call  the  thunders  of  the 
government  down  upon  their  own  heads,  may  excite  their  derision, 
but  will  not  probably  influence  their  conduct. 

The  observation  relative  to  the  dangerous  tendency  of  an 
open  disregard  to  established  laws  is  just,  but  in  its  application 
to  the  present  subject,  it  begs  the  question  in  dispute,  for  no  obe 
dience  is  due  to  an  unconstitutional  act  of  the  legislature.  And 
this  is  known  full  well  to  the  chief  magistrate,  whose  champion 
the  Friend  to  Peace  professes  to  be.  For  if  sophistry  itself  can 
ever  pick  a  constitutional  question  from  a  law  of  the  United  States, 
he  seems  disposed  to  be  not  merely  public,  but  ostentatious  in 
professing  disobedience.  As  to  the  cases  put  by  way  of  illustra 
tion,  of  the  people  of  Medford  undertaking  to  work  on  Sunday ; 
I  confess  I  cannot  see  its  connection  with  this  subject;  and  I 
do  the  justice  to  the  logical  talents  of  the  Friend  to  Peace  to 
believe,  that  it  was  introduced  rather  for  the  sake  of  glancing  at 


130  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1792 

the  excise  on  still-heads,  than  to  give  any  additional  weight  to  his 
argument. 

I  flatter  myself  I  have  now  shown  that  the  conduct  of  the 
opposers  to  the  prohibitory  theatrical  statute  has  not  been  proved 
to  be  unjustifiable  by  the  Friend  to  Peace.  On  the  contrary,  I 
now  Contend  that  their  complete  justification  will  flow  from  his 
own  principles.  Considering  the  law  as  unconstitutional,  they 
have  sought  as  far  as  could  reasonably  be  required  of  them,  all 
the  remedies  which  their  censurer  points  out  to  them.  They  have 
not  been  guilty  of  that  wanton,  unnecessary  violation  of  the  estab 
lished  law,  which  he  charges  them  with.  They  did  not  act  in  oppo 
sition  to  the  statute,  until  they  had  sought  in  vain  for  relief  from 
the  Legislature  nor  until  the  Legislature  added  to  the  mortification 
of  rejecting  their  request  by  the  insulting  silence  of  a  triumphant 
majority.  When  they  found  that  a  sullen  denial  of  satisfaction 
was  the  only  answer  which  the  Legislature  vouchsafed  to  make  to 
their  complaint,  they  proceeded  to  the  other  remedy  mentioned 
by  the  Friend  to  Peace.  They  acted  in  open  opposition  to  the 
statute,  and  if  they  had  not  Hibernian  blood  enough  in  their 
veins  to  turn  States  witnesses  against  themselves,  they  had  enough 
of  American  spirit  about  them  not  to  avoid  by  any  subterfuge  a 
legal  investigation.  The  question  of  constitutionality  they  have 
always  been  ready  to  meet,  and  in  the  meantime,  they  have 
regulated  their  conduct  by  their  own  sincere  opinion  upon  the 
subject.1  .  .  . 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  December  22,  1792. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

If  we  are  truly  informed  the  election  of  President  and 
Vice-President  is  decided  by  the  votes  of  which  we  have 

1  A  second  communication,  examining  the  conduct  of  the  executive,  was  printed 
in  the  Columbian  Centinel,  December  22,  1792,  and  a  third,  making  a  correction 
in  statement,  but  no  change  in  position,  in  the  same  journal,  December  22,  1792. 


I7Q2]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  131 

already  heard,  and  which  extend  no  further  than  Maryland. 
From  the  indication  of  the  disposition  of  the  people  I  feel 
much  personal  gratification,  as  it  shows  that  the  aspersions 
of  private  malice  and  of  public  faction  have  had  no  success 
in  shaking  the  reverence  and  affection  which  your  country 
men  entertained  for  you,  and  which  you  have  so  richly 
deserved  of  them ;  but  I  feel  still  more  satisfaction  on  their 
account,  because  it  shows  their  attachment  to  the  govern 
ment  itself,  and  that  the  artifices  of  unprincipled  ambition 
or  of  misguided  jealousy  have  not  led  them  astray  from  the 
pursuit  of  their  own  essential  interests.  Great  pains  it 
seems  were  taken  to  unite  the  opposition  in  favor  of  Gov 
ernor  Clinton,  and  canvassing  letters  were  received  by  the 
electors  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  from  New  York, 
and  even  from  Virginia.  But  in  both  the  former  States  the 
electors  and  the  people,  instead  of  being  influenced  by  those 
letters,  resented  very  much  such  an  insidious  attack  upon 
the  liberty  of  their  suffrages,  and  their  unanimous  votes 
may  convince  the  abettors  of  anarchy  and  confusion  that 
at  this  time  they  have  "overleapt  themselves  and  fallen  on 
the  other  side."  1 

The  subject  of  theatrical  amusements  still  continues  a 
gentle  agitation  in  this  town.  We  had  yesterday  a  town 
meeting  to  consider  the  propriety  of  remonstrating  to  the 
Legislature  against  the  prohibitory  statute.  You  will  see 
the  remonstrance,  together  with  sundry  resolutions  and  an 
address  to  be  presented  upon  the  occasion  to  the  Governor, 
in  this  day's  Centinel,  and  you  will  find  my  name  there  with 
twenty  others  as  a  Committee  to  present  the  address,  etc. 
The  town  meeting  was  more  numerous  than  usual,  and  yet 
the  proceedings  were  next  to  unanimous,  because  all  the 

1  The  votes  of  New  York,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia  were  unani 
mous  for  Clinton. 


132  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1792 

other  party  absented  themselves,  knowing  very  well  that 
they  would  be  out-voted,  if  they  made  their  appearance. 
Our  friend  Otis,  you  will  see,  is  also  upon  the  Commit 
tee,  though  he  was  decided  in  his  opposition  to  the  last 
year's  petition  for  the  repeal.  He  was  present  at  this  meet 
ing,  and  after  being  chosen  upon  the  Committee,  he  made  a 
short  speech  in  which  he  said  that  he  always  felt  happy  in 
endeavoring  to  promote  the  wishes  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
and  very  cheerfully  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the  majority, 
even  when  it  was  contrary  to  his  own  opinion  ;  that  he  would 
therefore  with  pleasure  co-operate  in  any  measures  to  ex 
press  the  sentiments  of  the  town  and  to  obtain  the  object 
which  they  desired.  But  in  order  to  avoid  an  appearance 
of  inconsistency  he  thought  it  necessary  to  declare,  that  he 
had  seen  no  reason  to  alter  a  single  sentiment  of  the  opinion 
which  he  had  formerly  expressed,  and  he  still  continued  to 
think  that  a  theatre  would  do  no  good  to  the  town.  It  was 
a  little  singular  that  Sullivan  was  nominated  four  or  five 
times  to  be  a  member  of  this  same  Committee  and  upon 
being  put  was  negatived  by  a  majority  of  votes  against  him. 
From  several  circumstances  I  have  reason  to  suspect  that 
his  nomination  came  from  Jarvis,  whose  policy  upon  this 
occasion  seems  to  be  to  press  into  the  service  all  the  men  of 
abilities  or  influence  who  have  been  in  the  opposition.  But 
with  respect  to  Sullivan  the  object  failed ;  for  so  long  as  his 
being  on  the  other  side  afforded  the  voters  a  decent  pretext 
for  voting  against  him,  a  majority  was  found  who  chose  to 
gratify  their  inclination  to  vote  against  him  at  any  rate. 
So  soon  as  the  number  of  the  Committee  was  completed, 
Jarvis  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  said  he  hoped  it  would  be 
universally  understood  that  the  negative  passed  upon  Mr. 
Sullivan  was  not  from  any  intended  disrespect  to  him,  but 
only  because  it  was  conceived  his  official  situation  made  it 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  133 

improper  to  require  his  aid  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  law. 
This  smoothed  the  matter  over  well  enough,  but  several 
persons  told  me  they  voted  against  him,  because  they  were 
glad  of  an  opportunity  to  insult  a  man  whom  they  hated 
and  despised.  Here  then  the  matter  rests,  and  I  am  ap 
prehensive  you  will  think  me  tedious  in  giving  so  minute  a 
detail  of  it.  ... 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  February  10,  1793. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

As  I  was  going  to  meeting  this  afternoon  a  gentleman 
met  me  in  the  street,  and  desired  me  to  fill  him  a  writ  im 
mediately,  which  he  intends  to  have  served  as  early  as  pos 
sible  in  the  morning.  I  accordingly  did  it,  and  it  is  now  too 
late  to  attend  the  afternoon  service.  I  think  I  cannot  em 
ploy  the  leisure  time  thus  thrown  on  my  hands  better  than 
in  giving  you  an  account  of  the  commercial  catastrophe  now 
taking  place  in  this  town,  which  occasioned  the  singular 
application  to  me  that  I  have  just  mentioned.  The  bubble 
of  banking  is  breaking,  and  I  am  very  apprehensive  that  it 
will  prove  as  distressing  to  this  town  as  that  of  stock-jobbing 
was  about  twelve  months  since  at  New  York.  Seven  or 
eight  failures  of  considerable  consequence  have  happened 
within  these  three  days,  and  many  more  arc  inevitable  I 
think  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  week.  The  pernicious 
practice  of  mutual  indorsements  upon  each  other's  notes  has 
been  carried  as  now  appears  to  an  extravagant  length,  and 
is  now  found  to  have  involved  not  only  the  principals,  who 
have  been  converting  their  loans  from  the  bank  into  a  regular 
trading  stock,  but  many  others  who  have  undertaken  to  be 
their  security.  The  stagnation  of  trade  produced  in  the  fall 
of  the  year  by  the  smallpox,  and  very  much  increased  by  a 


134  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

remarkably  open  winter,  which  has  not  admitted  of  the 
usual  facility  of  communication  with  the  country  upon  the 
snow,  have  undoubtedly  accelerated  this  calamity,  which, 
however,  would  have  been  the  more  oppressive  the  longer 
it  would  have  been  deferred. 

These  misfortunes  will  undoubtedly  give  a  degree  of 
activity  to  my  particular  profession  which  has  not  for  several 
years  been  allotted  to  it.  But  I  shall  personally  derive  but 
very  little  immediate  benefit  from  it.  I  see  no  prospect  of 
its  adding  much  to  my  business  at  present,  and  if  it  should, 
there  is  no  satisfaction  in  thriving  by  the  misery  of  others. 

I  received  last  evening  your  favor  with  a  quotation  from 
the  Echo,  which  has  been  read  here,  as  well  as  the  Hartford 
newscarrier's  wit,  with  pleasure  by  those  who  are  fond  of 
laughing  at  the  follies  of  our  great  man.1  The  situation  of 
our  affairs  is  such,  and  the  passions  and  rivalries  of  our 
most  conspicuous  characters  assume  an  aspect  so  alarming, 
that  we  have  indeed  much  to  apprehend  for  the  fate  of  the 
country.  It  is  a  subject  upon  which  my  mind  does  not 
dwell  with  pleasure,  and  I  am  the  more  desirous  to  keep 
myself  altogether  unconnected  with  political  topics,  because 
my  sentiments  in  general  I  find  are  as  unpopular  as  my  con 
duct  relative  to  the  town  police  or  to  the  theatrical  questions. 
I  have  no  predilection  for  unpopularity  as  such,  but  I  hold 
it  much  preferable  to  the  popularity  of  a  day,  which  perishes 
with  the  transient  topic  upon  which  it  is  grounded ;  and 
therefore  I  persisted  in  refusing  to  appear  at  the  anarchical 
dinner  which  was  denominated  a  civic  feast,  though  I  was 
urged  strongly  by  several  of  my  friends  to  become  a  sub 
scriber  upon  principles  of  expediency.  Those  friends  dis 
liked  the  whole  affair  quite  as  much  as  I  did,  but  thought 
it  was  necessary  to  comply  with  the  folly  of  the  day.  Upon 

1  Hancock. 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  135 

the  whole  however  it  appears  to  me  that  the  celebration 
of  that  day  has  had  rather  an  advantageous  than  an  in 
jurious  effect.  The  specimens  of  equality  exhibited  in  the 
course  of  it  did  not  suit  the  palates  of  many  who  had  joined 
in  the  huzzas.  The  Governor  thought  it  proper  to  be  sick 
and  not  attend,  and  I  believe  has  ventured  to  express  his 
disapprobation  of  the  proceedings  in  several  particulars. 
We  have  Jacobins  enough,  but  in  this  instance  they  overshot 
themselves,  and  shewed  their  teeth  and  claws  so  injudi 
ciously,  as  to  guard  even  the  weaker  members  of  the  com 
munity  against  them.1  .  .  . 

MARCELLUS  2 
I3 

At  a  period,  when  all  the  European  powers  with  whom  we  have 
any  considerable  commercial  intercourse,  are  involved  in  war, 
it  becomes  an  interesting  question  to  every  American,  what  line 
of  conduct  ought  to  be  pursued  by  the  United  States  as  a  nation, 
and  by  their  citizens  as  individuals,  in  relation  to  the  contending 
parties.  The  individual  must  follow  the  dictates  of  his  own  dis 
cretion,  and  the  path  to  be  pursued  by  the  nation  must  be  pointed 
out  by  the  wisdom  of  the  National  Legislation  :  But  upon  a  subject 
in  which  all  are  so  deeply  interested,  it  is  the  right,  and  in  some 
measure  the  duty  of  every  citizen,  to  express  his  opinions  with 
decency,  but  with  freedom  and  sincerity. 

The  solution  of  the  question  as  it  respects  the  country,  involves 

1  This  "civic  feast"  is  described  in  the  Columbian  Centinel,  January  26,  30;  and 
Massachusetts  Mercury,  January  26,   1793.     It  is  sketched  in  McMaster,  History 
oj 'the  People  of  the  United  States,  II.  91. 

2  Genet,  the  first   minister  from   the   French   Republic  to  the  United   States, 
landed  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  April  8.     On  April  22  the  proclamation  of 
neutrality  was  issued  in  Philadelphia.     Adams  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  discuss 
the  political  situation,  for  Hamilton  ("Pacificus")  printed  his  first  paper  June  29. 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  April  24,  1793. 


i36  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

in  itself  an  answer  to  that  which  relates  to  individuals.  There 
have  indeed  been  certain  suggestions  in  the  public  papers,  and  in 
private  circles  something  similar  has  been  heard,  of  an  intention 
among  some  of  our  fellow  citizens  to  arm  privateers,  and  commit 
depredations  upon  the  commerce  of  one  of  the  parties  under 
the  authority  of  another.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  violation  of 
the  laws  of  nature  and  nations,  this  buccaneering  plan  of  piratical 
plunder,  may  not  in  any  instance  be  carried  beyond  the  airy  regions 
of  speculation,  and  may  never  acquire  the  consistency  of  practical 
execution.  If  the  natural  obligations  of  justice  are  so  feeble 
among  us,  that  avarice  cannot  be  restrained  from  robbery,  but 
by  the  provisions  of  positive  law,  if  the  statute  book  is  to  be  our 
only  rule  of  morality  to  regulate  the  observance  of  our  duties 
towards  our  fellow  creatures,  let  those  whose  ideas  of  equality  are 
so  very  subservient  to  their  private  interests,  consult  the  treaties 
between  the  United  States  and  the  several  powers  now  at  war, 
which  by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  are  declared  to  be 
"the  supreme  law  of  the  land,"  and  in  the  2ist,  the  igth  and 
the  2Oth  articles  of  the  several  treaties  of  commerce  with  France, 
Holland  and  Prussia,  they  will  find,  that  by  taking  letters  of 
marque  or  arming  privateers  with  commissions  under  either 
of  the  powers  against  either  of  the  others,  they  would  subject 
themselves  to  the  punishment  of  pirates.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that  a  similar  act  of  hostility  against  any  subject  of  the  king 
of  Great  Britain,  would  be  a  direct  violation  of  the  yth  article 
of  the  treaty  of  peace.  If  we  were  not  bound  by  any  treaty 
whatever,  with  either  of  the  nations,  the  natural  obligation  of 
neutrality  would  operate  upon  us  individually,  unless  the  nation 
should  take  a  decisive  part  in  favor  of  one  of  the  parties.  Every 
citizen  would  be  legally  responsible  for  all  the  property  which  he 
might  seize  with  violence  under  a  commission  to  which  he  could 
not  be  entitled,  and  if  he  should  preserve  himself  from  the  punish 
ment  of  piracy,  he  would  be  liable  to  make  entire  satisfaction  for 
all  the  damage  he  might  occasion,  and  to  restore  his  ill-acquired 
plunder. 


1793)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  137 

It  is  indeed  of  material  importance  to  the  commercial  interest 
of  this  country,  that  our  merchants  should  show  a  peculiar  degree 
of  circumspection  in  their  conduct,  because  the  country  becomes  at 
a  season  so  critical  as  this,  in  some  measure  responsible  for  them. 
In  the  just  and  honorable  pursuit  of  their  legitimate  interest,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  nation  to  support  them  with  all  its  force  and  all 
its  authority.     In  time  of  war,  the  subjects  of  all  belligerent  powers 
are  frequently  disposed  to  violate  the  rights  of  neutral  nations. 
The  master  and  the  crew  of  a  privateer,  fitted  out  and  cruising 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  seizing  upon  defenceless  wealth,  and  stimu 
lated  by  the  prospect  of  a  valuable  spoil,  often  feel  the  full  force 
of    disappointed    rapaciousness,    when    after    a    long    chase    they 
discover  that  the  ship,  upon  the  plunder  of  whose  cargo  they  had 
already  feasted  their  imaginations,  is  rescued  from  their  violence 
by  the  protection  of  a  neutral  flag.     They  are  not  apt  to  be  nice 
in    their   distinctions    of   morality.     Their   disappointed    passions 
often   seek   a  vent   against   the  unarmed  opulence   which   eludes 
their   grasps,    and    they  are    frequently  guilty  of   insolence,  and 
sometimes  of  oppression  towards  those  who  are  not  in  a  condition 
to   resent   their   inju  tice.     In    such   case   the   individuals   of   the 
neutral   nation,  who  suffer  in   consequence  of  such   lawless  pro 
ceedings,  have  no  remedy  but  to  call  upon  the  sovereign  of  their 
own  country  to  support  them  in  their  demand  for  satisfaction  : 
Should  any  complaints  arising  from  causes    like    this  become  a 
subject  of  negotiation,  between  the  United  States  and  either  of 
the  contending  parties,  it  behoves  us  all,  as  we  value  our  interests, 
or  our  reputation,  that  no  occasion  to    retort  a  complaint  that 
the  neutrality  was  first  violated  on  our  part,  should  be  given.     In 
order  to  obtain  justice,  for  any  citizen  who  may  suffer  by  the  in 
iquity  of  a  foreigner,  we  must  disavow  in  the  most  decisive  manner, 
all  acts  of  iniquity  committed  by  our  own  citizens,  and  our  govern 
ment  can  never  have  an  expectation  of  gaining  a  compensation 
for  the  injured  individual,  unless  they  can  compel  the  injuring 
individual  to  make  compensation  in  his  turn. 

To    expatiate    upon    the    natural    injustice  and  wickedness    of 


138  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [i793 

privateering  under  a  foreign  commission  against  a  nation  at  peace 
with  us,  would  be  as  idle  as  an  attempt  "to  add  a  perfume  to  the 
violet."  The  practise  of  privateering,  even  in  its  most  excusable 
form,  between  nations  formally  at  war,  has  been  condemned  by 
the  most  amiable  and  virtuous  moralists.  In  the  treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  it  is  provided  that  in 
case  war  should  arise  between  the  contracting  parties,  "All  mer 
chant  and  trading  vessels  employed  in  exchanging  the  products  of 
different  places,  and  thereby  rendering  the  necessaries,  conven 
iences  and  comforts  of  human  life  more  easy  to  be  obtained,  and 
more  general,  shall  be  allowed  to  pass  free  and  unmolested : 
and  neither  of  the  contracting  powers  shall  grant  or  issue 
any  commission  to  any  private  armed  vessel,  empowering 
them  to  take  or  destroy  such  trading  vessels  or  interrupt  such 
commerce/' l  This  clause  in  the  treaty,  which  was  I  believe  the 
first  instance  in  which  two  great  nations  have  adopted  this  system 
of  benevolence  and  humanity,  has  been  justly  admired  and  ap 
plauded  ;  it  was  adopted  by  the  late  French  National  Assembly, 
when  they  declared  war  against  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  and 
the  real  friends  of  mankind  must  regret  that  the  policy  is  abandoned 
at  this  time,  when  the  war  extends  to  all  the  great  commercial 
nations  of  Europe.  For,  if  as  the  poet,  with  more  than  poetical 
truth,  has  said,  "War  is  murder,"  the  plunder  of  private  property, 
the  pillage  of  all  the  regular  rewards  of  honest  industry  and 
laudable  enterprise,  upon  the  mere  pretence  of  a  national  contest, 
to  the  eye  of  reason  and  justice,  can  appear  in  no  other  light  than 
that  of  highway  robbery.  If,  however,  some  apology  for  the 
practice  is  to  be  derived  from  the  uncontrollable  laws  of  necessity, 
or  from  the  iniquitous  law  of  war,  certainly  there  can  be  no  possible 
excuse  for  those  who  incur  the  guilt  without  being  able  to  plead 
the  palliation ;  for  those  who  by  violating  the  rights  of  nations  in 
order  to  obtain  a  licence  for  rapine,  manifestly  show,  that  it  is 
only  the  lash  of  the  executioner  that  binds  them  to  the  observance 
of  their  civil  and  political  dut'es. 

lArt.  XXIII,  treaty  of  1785. 


1793]  JOHN   QUIXCY  ADAMS  139 

II1 

Non  nostrum,  tantas  componere  lites. 

Having  attempted  in  a  late  paper  to  show  that  a  rigid  adherence 
to  the  system  of  Neutrality  between  the  European  nations  now  at 
war,  is  equally  the  dictate  of  justice  and  of  policy,  to  the  individual 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  while  the  Nation  remains  neutral, 
the  question  recurs,  what  is  the  line  of  conduct  prescribed  to  the 
nation  itself,  at  this  delicate  juncture,  by  those  immutable  laws  of 
justice  and  equity,  which  are  equally  obligatory  to  sovereigns  and 
to  subjects,  to  republics  and  to  kings.  I  shall  not  make  any 
consideration  of  general  policy  a  separate  subject  of  inquiry, 
because  I  hold  it  to  be  one  of  the  most  undeniable  principles  of 
government,  that  the  truest  policy  of  a  nation  consists  in  the  per 
formance  of  its  duties.  The  rights  of  nations  are  nothing  more 
than  an  extension  of  the  rights  of  individuals  to  the  great  societies, 
into  which  the  different  portions  of  mankind  have  been  combined  ; 
and  they  are  all  mediately  or  immediately  derived  from  the  fun 
damental  position  which  the  author  of  Christianity  has  taught 
us  as  an  article  of  religion,  and  which  the  revised  declaration  of 
rights  of  the  National  Convention  in  France  have  declared,  to  con 
tain  the  essence  of  liberty.  "Liberty,"  says  the  new  Declaration  of 
Rights,  "consists  in  the  power  of  doing  whatever  is  not  contrary  to  the 
rights  of  others ."  "Whatsoever,"  says  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  "you 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.'"'  Let  us 
therefore  be  cautious  to  do  nothing  contrary  to  the  rights  of  others, 
and  we  shall  continue  to  enjoy  and  to  deserve  the  blessings  of 
freedom.  Let  us  do  as  we  should  choose  others  might  do  to  us,  and 
we  shall  deserve  the  favors  of  Heaven. 

If  these  are  the  principles  upon  which  our  national  conduct  is  to 
be  grounded,  it  will  follow,  that  an  impartial  and  unequivocal 
neutrality  between  the  contending  parties  is  prescribed  to  us  as 
a  duty,  unless  we  are  bound  by  some  existing  contract  or  stipu 
lation,  to  make  a  common  cause  with  one  of  them. 

1  Columbian  Cfntinet,  May  4,  1793. 


140  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i793 

I  have  already  said  it :  The  natural  state  of  all  nations,  with 
respect  to  one  another,  is  a  state  of  peace  —  damus  petimusque 
vicissim  :  It  is  what  we  have  a  right  to  expect  from  them,  and 
for  the  same  reason  it  is  our  duty  to  observe  it  towards  them.  In 
addition  to  this  natural  obligation,  we  are  bound  by  express 
treaties  with  France,  England,  Holland  and  Prussia,  to  observe 
the  laws  of  peace  with  the  subjects  of  their  different  governments, 
and  we  have  no  right  to  interfere  in  their  contentions.  What 
ever  may  be  the  current  of  our  sentiments,  or  of  our  opinions ; 
whatever  may  be  the  language  suggested  by  our  passions, 
or  the  wishes  inspired  by  our  affections,  we  are  not  constituted 
judges  of  the  respective  merits  of  their  cause.  From  a  feeling  of 
gratitude  towards  a  nation  which  assisted  us  in  the  days  of  our 
own  calamity,  we  may  be  disposed  to  throw  a  veil  over  their  own 
errors  and  crimes,  and  wish  them  that  success  which  their  frantic 
enthusiasm  has  rendered  so  improbable.  As  the  descendants  of 
Englishmen,  we  may  be  willing  to  lose  the  memory  of  all  the  miseries 
they  inflicted  upon  us  in  our  just  struggle  against  them,  and  even 
the  relics  of  their  resentment,  which  still  refuse  the  complete  ful 
filment  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  we  may  wish  them  still  to  retain 
their  reputation  for  successful  courage  and  conduct  in  war.  As 
men,  we  must  undoubtedly  lament  the  effusion  of  human  blood, 
and  the  mass  of  misery  and  distress  which  is  preparing  for  the 
great  part  of  the  civilized  world ;  but  as  the  citizens  of  a  nation 
at  a  vast  distance  from  the  continent  of  Europe;  of  a  nation 
whose  happiness  consists  in  a  real  independence,  disconnected 
from  all  European  interests  and  European  politics,  it  is  our  duty  to 
remain,  the  peaceable  and  silent,  though  sorrowful  spectators  of 
the  sanguinary  scene. 

With  the  reasons  for  neutrality  suggested  by  these  considera 
tions  of  natural  duty  and  of  positive  stipulation,  a  forcible  argu 
ment  concurs,  derived  from  our  interest.  In  the  general  conduct 
of  all  the  commercial  European  nations,  the  advantages  which 
will  be  thrown  into  our  hands,  and  the  activity  and  vigor  which 
will  be  given  to  every  branch  of  our  commerce,  are  too  obvious 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  141 

to  need  any  discussion.  As  the  natural  consequence  of  war,  the 
necessities  of  all  the  belligerent  powers  must  increase  in  proportion 
as  their  means  of  supply  will  dimmish,  and  the  profits,  which 
must  infallibly  flow  to  us  from  their  wants,  can  have  no  other 
limitation  than  the  extent  of  our  capacity  to  provide  for  them. 

With  all  these  inducements  to  a  decided  neutrality,  let  us  look 
at  the  other  side  of  the  medal,  and  see  what  would  be  the  conse 
quence  of  our  making  ourselves  partisans  of  the  contest.  First, 
we  should  be  engaged  in  a  quarrel,  with  the  laws  of  nations  against 
us.  It  would  be  a  violation  of  our  political  duties  ;  a  departure 
from  the  principles  of  national  justice,  and  an  express  breach  of  the 
positive  stipulations  of  peace  and  friendship  with  the  several 
belligerent  powers,  contained  in  the  treaties  which  I  have  already 
mentioned.  An  act  of  partiality  in  favor  of  either  party  would 
be  an  act  of  perfidy  to  the  other. 

I  have  so  full  a  confidence  in  the  equity  and  virtue  of  my  coun 
trymen,  that  I  should  rest  the  argument  on  this  point,  if  I  had 
not  perceived  that  a  contrary  system  of  policy  is  avowed  by  men 
of  some  influence  among  us,  and  openly  recommended  in  some  of 
the  public  prints  of  the  day.  A  system,  which  professing  to  arise 
from  an  extraordinary  attachment  to  the  cause  of  Liberty  and 
Equality,  may  in  reality  be  traced  to  the  common  sources  of 
private  avarice,  and  private  ambition,  perhaps  at  once  the  cause 
and  effect  of  an  implicit  devotion  to  France,  and  an  antipathy  to 
England,  exceeding  the  limits  of  a  national  resentment. 

To  men  of  this  description,  arguments  derived  from  the  obli 
gations  of  natural  justice,  or  of  written  contract  will  be  perfectly 
nugatory.  "The  Rights  of  Man,"  will  be  their  answer  to  the  one, 
and  "Liberty  and  Equality,"  to  the  other.  I  apply,  therefore, 
to  a  principle  of  more  efficacious  operation  in  their  minds,  if  their 
own  interest  is  in  any  degree  connected  with  that  of  their  country, 
and  ask  them  what  would  be  the  inevitable  consequence  of  a  war 
with  all  Europe,  excepting  only  the  present  prevailing  power  of 
France  ?  The  experience  of  the  late  war,  would  perhaps  dis 
courage  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  to  conquer  this 


THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

Continent,  but  we  have  a  sea-coast  of  twelve  hundred  miles  every 
where  open  to  invasion,  and  where  is  the  power  to  protect  it  ? 
We  have  a  flourishing  commerce,  expanding  to  every  part  of  the 
globe,  and  where  will  it  turn  when  excluded  from  every  market  of 
the  earth  ?  We  depend  upon  the  returns  of  that  commerce  for 
many  necessaries  of  life,  and  when  those  returns  shall  be  cut  off, 
where  shall  we  look  for  the  supply  ?  We  are  in  a  great  measure 
destitute  of  the  defensive  apparatus  of  war,  and  who  will  provide 
us  with  the  arms  and  ammunition  that  will  be  indispensable  ?  We 
feel  severely  at  this  moment,  the  burden  of  our  public  debt,  and 
where  are  the  funds  to  support  us  in  the  dreadful  extremity  to 
which  our  own  madness  and  iniquity  would  reduce  us  ?  Not 
to  mention  the  infallible  destruction  of  our  finances,  and  the  na 
tional  bankruptcy,  which  the  friends  of  the  system  I  am  combating, 
would  perhaps  welcome  as  a  blessing.  Are  these,  Sir,  imaginary 
apprehensions,  or  are  they  objects  of  trivial  moment  ?  Our 
national  existence  may  depend  upon  the  event  of  our  councils  in 
the  present  crisis,  and  to  advise  us  to  engage  voluntarily  in  the 
war,  is  to  aim  a  dagger  at  the  heart  of  the  country. 

Ill1 

Omnium  primum  natus  tueri  public  am  fidem.     Liv. 

It  has  been  inquired  by  citizens  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  the 
country,  and  aware  of  the  distress  to  which  it  must  inevitably 
be  reduced  by  an  European  war,  whether  we  have  not  already 
pledged  our  faith  so  far  as  to  preclude  us  from  any  present  con 
sideration  of  convenience  or  inconvenience,  and  whether  we  are 
not  by  our  own  voluntary  engagement  bound  to  take  the  part  of 
the  present  government  in  France,  especially  in  case  the  West 
India  islands  should  be  attacked  by  Great  Britain. 

By  the  eleventh  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  with  France, 
the  United  States  "guaranty  to  his  most  Christian  Majesty,  the 
possessions  of  the  crown  of  France  in  America."  2  But  the  course 
of  human  events  has  either  totally  absolved  us,  or  at  least  sus- 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  May  n,  1793.  2  Treaty  of  1778. 


JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  143 

pended  the  obligation  of  this  clause,  and  it  cannot  be  made  even 
a  plausible  pretext  for  involving  us  in  the  present  war.  My 
reasons  for  this  opinion  are, 

1.  That  the  guaranty  is  to   his  most  Christian  Majesty,  of  the 
possessions  of  the  crown  of  France.     I  ask,  who  is  at  this  time  his 
most  Christian  Majesty  ?     A  part  of  the  French  nation,  and  all 
the  other  powers  of  Europe  will  answer,  he  is  the  son  or  the  brother 
of  the  late  Louis  the  XVIth.     The  National   Convention,  and  the 
present  republic  of   France  will  say  there  is  no  such  man.     The 
office  and  all  its  powers  have  been  extinguished  in  the  blood  of  the 
person  with  whom  your  contract  was  made.     If  the  article  binds 
us  to  either  of  the  parties,  the  question  which  of  the  two  is  entitled 
to  claim  the  performance,  is  now  a  question  to  be  settled  by  the 
event  of  a  civil  war,  and  neither  party  can  call  upon  us  to  decide 
it  for  them. 

2.  That  supposing  the  revolutions  of  France  are  now  completed, 
and  a  republic  firmly  established,  it  may  be  doubtful  whether  they 
have  not  by  their  change  of  government,  dissolved  this  clause  of 
the  treaty  :    I  know  it  is  a  general  principle  of  the  laws  of  nations, 
that  the  rights    and  obligations  of    treaties  survive  the   internal 
revolutions   of   government,    and    therefore    that    the    republic   of 
France  may  be  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  engagements  contracted 
with    the    former    Monarch.      But    to    this    rule    there    are    many 
exceptions;    the  first  Constituent  Assembly  were  so  fully  of  this 
opinion    that    they    thought    the    nation    absolved    from    all    such 
treaties  previously  made,  as  might  be  injurious  to  their  interests, 
and  the  present  government  have   extended    the  principle  much 
further,  when  [as]  a  justification  for  opening  the  Scheldt,  contrary  to 
the  positive  and  express  stipulation  of  many  treaties,  they  have 
formally  denied  the  obligation  of  any  compact,  which  was  con 
trary  to  the  natural  Rights  of  Men.     Upon  speculative  principles 
it  may  be  very  questionable  how  far  the  sovereign  control  of  a 
French  Republic,  over  islands  at  three  thousand  miles  distance  from 
them  is  consistent  with   such  natural  rights,  and  it  would  be  diffi 
cult  to  mark  the  distinction  which  should  prohibit  every  act  of 


144  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

jurisdiction  exercised  by  one  nation  over  a  river  flowing  through 
the  territories  of  another,  and  at  the  same  time  allow  a  supreme 
authority  over  colonies  placed  by  the  hand  of  nature  at  so  wide  a 
distance  from  the  metropolis.  The  possessions  of  the  crown  of 
France,  as  guaranteed  by  our  Treaty  to  his  most  Christian  Majesty 
appear  to  me  to  have  formed  a  part  of  that  Constitution  of  govern 
ment  which  then  existed  in  France ;  they  were  a  part  of  the  mon 
archy,  and  under  the  new  government  they  can  no  longer  be 
considered  as  possessions,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  they  were 
understood  when  the  United  States  bound  themselves  to  the 
guaranty. 

3.  Should  both  of  those  ground  for  the  opinion  I  am  supporting 
be  considered  as  erroneous,  and  the  clause  in  question  be  held  as 
binding  us  to  the  French  Republic,  in  the  same  manner  as  it 
formerly  did  to  the  King,  it  remains  to  inquire  what  was  intended 
by  the  guaranty,  and  what  are  the  duties  which  it  has  prescribed 
to  us  ?  During  the  administration  of  the  royal  government,  had 
the  authority  of  the  sovereign  been  guided  by  the  maxims  of 
speculative  freedom  or  of  practical  tyranny;  had  he  provoked 
a  rebellion  in  the  islands,  by  oppressing  the  planters  or  by  liberat 
ing  their  slaves ;  the  guaranty  in  the  treaty  would  not  have  bound 
us  to  assist  him  with  our  blood  and  treasures,  in  enforcing  an 
absurd  and  unnatural  Government  against  the  perpetual  resist 
ances  which  it  would  necessarily  provoke.  Had  the  late  King  of 
France,  like  other  kings  of  whom  we  read  in  history,  veiling  his 
insatiate  ambition,  under  some  specious  pretence  of  glory,  of 
dignity  or  of  safety,  declared  a  wanton  and  unjustifiable  war 
against  any  or  all  of  the  commercial  nations  in  Europe,  and  had 
his  possessions  in  America  been  conquered  by  his  enemies  in  the 
course  of  such  a  war,  he  never  could  have  called  upon  the  United 
States  by  virtue  of  this  guaranty,  to  repair  the  injuries  of  his 
folly,  and  to  sacrifice  themselves  in  support  of  his  pernicious 
projects.  It  is  unnecessary  to  fatigue  the  public  with  the  pedantry 
of  quotations  from  the  writers  upon  natural  and  political  Law, 
but  it  may  be  laid  down  as  an  universal  principle,  that  no  stipu- 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  145 

lation  contained  in  a  treaty,  can  ever  oblige  one  nation  to  adopt 
or  support  the  folly  or  injustice  of  another.  In  applying  this 
principle,  it  becomes  necessary  to  observe,  that  the  administra 
tion  of  the  French  government  over  their  colonies,  since  the  first 
revolution  of  1789  has  been  such  as  to  keep  almost  all  their  islands 
in  a  constant  state  of  rebellion  and  civil  war;  by  the  former  of 
these  calamities  the  slaves  have  been  united  against  their  masters; 
by  the  latter  the  masters  have  been  divided  against  each  other. 
From  the  chaotic  mass  of  human  passions,  a  collection  of  all  the 
most  violent  and  inflammable  elements  has  been  selected  and 
combined  together;  the  torch  of  the  furies  has  been  applied  to  the 
composition ;  and  the  miserable  islanders  have  been  the  victims  of 
the  fatal  explosion. 

To  such  a  state  of  desperation  have  these  devoted  colonies  been 
reduced,  that  a  formal  deputation,  as  we  are  informed  by  the  public 
papers,  have  solicited  for  them  the  protection  of  the  British 
government ;  and  we  are  now  told  that  this  protection  has  been 
promised;  that  the  King  of  Great  Britain  has  agreed  to  take 
possession  of  those  colonies  and  to  hold  them  in  trust  for  his  most 
Christian  Majesty,  the  power  to  whom  the  letter  of  our  guaranty 
has  promised  the  assistance  of  the  United  States.  An  arbitrary 
and  oppressive  system  of  administration  compelled  us  to  renounce 
the  authority  of  Great  Britain,  and  France  assisted  us  to  main 
tain  our  honorable  warfare.  A  similar  evil  has  driven  some  of 
the  French  colonies  to  a  similar  remedy;  one  of  them  has  even 
attempted  a  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  all  the  others  would 
doubtless  have  done  the  same,  were  they  not  profoundly  sensible 
that  the  time  is  not  yet  come,  for  the  Lion  to  lie  down  with  the 
Lamb,  and  that  the  justice  of  their  cause  would  avail  them  but 
little  against  the  powerful  injustice  of  their  oppressors.  But 
surely  there  would  be  something  singularly  absurd  and  iniquitous, 
to  see  the  United  States  support  the  French  in  a  plan  of  oppressive 
administration  over  their  colonies,  as  a  reward  for  rescuing  them 
from  the  oppression  of  Great  Britain.  It  would  be  such  a  total 
subversion  of  all  moral  and  political  consistency,  such  a  cove- 


i46  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

nant  between  virtue  and  vice,  such  a  coalition  of  liberal  free 
dom  with  despotic  tyranny,  as  can  scarcely  be  imagined  without  a 
confusion  of  ideas,  or  expressed  without  an  absurdity  of  language. 
4.  The  last  ground  upon  which  I  consider  this  guaranty  as 
dissolved  or  at  least  suspended,  is,  that  by  the  act  of  the  French 
government,  it  has  been  rendered  impracticable.  They  have 
declared  war  against  all  the  naval  powers  of  Europe.  What  the 
event  of  that  war  will  be,  it  is  not  given  to  man  to  foretell ;  but 
we  cannot  take  a  part  with  the  French  Republic,  without  uniting 
all  the  rest  of  Europe  against  us ;  which  upon  every  rational  cal 
culation  of  probability,  would  be  dooming  ourselves  to  inevitable 
ruin  and  destruction.  We  are  therefore  commanded  by  a  law, 
which  supercedes  all  others,  by  that  uncontrolable  law  of  nature, 
which  is  paramount  to  all  human  legislation,  or  compact,  to  remain 
at  peace,  and  to  content  ourselves  with  wishing  that  laureled  Vic 
tory  may  sit  upon  the  sword  of  justice,  and  that  smooth  success 
may  always  be  strewed  before  the  feet  of  virtuous  Freedom. 

FROM  CHARLES  ADAMS 

July  29,  [1793.] 
MY  DEAR  BROTHER  : 

I  received  the  copies  of  your  oration  l  by  Mr.  Atkinson,  for 
which  I  give  you  my  own  and  the  thanks  of  my  friends.  Un 
willing  to  trust  my  own  partial  judgment  upon  the  performance, 
I  have  endeavored  to  collect  the  opinions  of  my  friends  here, 
who  are  most  remarkable  for  their  taste,  and  my  own  ideas  have 
been  justified  by  the  universal  applause  which  has  been  bestowed 
upon  your  oration.  I  cannot  but  admire  the  prudence  which  you 
have  observed  in  steering  so  cautiously  between  the  Scylla  and 
Charybdis  of  public  opinion,  and  surely  it  was  your  duty  to  offend  no 
one  in  a  performance  of  this  kind.  In  a  late  letter  you  observe  that 

1  Published  with  the  title:  An/Oration, /pronounced/July  4th,  1793, /at  the/ 
Request  of  the  Inhabitants/of  the/Town  of  Boston ;/  in  Commemoration/of  the/ 
Anniversary  of/American  Independence.  .  .  .  Boston :/  Printed  by  Benjamin 
Edes  &  Son.  M,  DCC,  xcm. 


1793]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  147 

some  of  my  friends  think  me  too  strenuous  upon  the  wrong  side.    I 
must  be  thought  so,  if  I  deny  a  single  democratic  principle.     Every 
man  who  now  ventures  to  disapprove  of  a  single  measure  of  the 
French,  is  according  to  modern  language  an  aristocrat,  and  I  had 
rather  submit  to  the  imputation,  than  indiscriminately  to  approve 
of  every  transaction  of  that  nation.     God  forbid  that  I  should  ever 
become  the  advocate  of  tyranny,  whether  exercised  by  a  single  or 
a  many  headed  monster.     How  strenuous  are  the  party  in  Phila 
delphia  to    engage  us  in    a  war  !     What  abuse    and  reviling  con 
stantly  fills  that  mint  of  defamation,  the  National  Gazette!     How 
determined  should  be  the  conduct  of  the  executive  !     Surely  the 
conduct  of  a  foreign  minister  is  reprehensible  who  talks  of  appeal 
ing  to  the  people  from  the  decision  of  the  first  magistrate.     If 
ever  there  was  a  time  when  firmness  was  required,  it  is  now.     What 
do  you  think  of  the  decision  of  Judge  Peters  in  your  part  of  the 
world  ?     I  would  ask  one  question.     Suppose  a  French  ship  should 
come  up  to  the  wharves  of  New  York,  and  carry  away  to  Phila 
delphia  twenty  or  thirty  British  merchantmen.     Could  our  Court 
of  Admiralty  have  jurisdiction  of  it  ?     We  have  had  a  case  similar 
to  that  of  the  ship  William,  before  our  District  Court.     It  was 
argued  on  the  part  of  the  libellants  last  week,  and  more  ingenious 
and  curious  argument  I  never  heard  in  a  court.     Messrs.  Troup  and 
Harison  showed  themselves  to  the  greatest  advantage.     To  be  sure 
the  concluding  quotation  of  Mr.  H.,  applied  to  Judge  Duane,  could 
not  but  raise  a  smile  on  the  countenance  of  those  who  know  his 
character.     He   is   suspected   of   leaning   toward    the   opinion   of 
Judge  Peters,  for  whom  he  has  a  great  veneration ;    but  I  am  in 
clined  to  believe  that  after  the  argument,  and  the  application  of 
the  verse  from  Horace,  "  Justum  et  tenacem,"  etc.,  he  will  not  have 
obstinacy  enough  to  decide  similarly.     We  daily  expect  a  French 
fleet  in  this  port.     I  dread  the  moment.     We  have  many  turbulent 
people  in  this  city,  who  would  wish  to  take  advantage  of  such  an 
event.     We  have  already  been  witnesses  to  the  commencement  of 
very    tumultuous    proceedings.     A   writer    in    the    Philadelphia 
papers,  Pacificus,  has  claimed  the  attention  of  the  public.     I  am 


148  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

happy  to  find  most  men  of  character  accord  with  the  sentiments  of 
this  writer.  Who  he  is,  I  know  not.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
amongst  us,  has  the  credit  of  being  the  author.  The  pieces  would 
not  disgrace  his  pen.  Entre  nous,  it  seems  to  me  rather  surprising 
that  the  Vice  President  has  not  been  called  to  Philadelphia.  Surely 
his  council  is  necessary  in  the  present  circumstances  of  this  country. 
Pray  explain  to  me.  You  may  have  a  better  opportunity  of  know 
ing  the  reasons  than  myself  or  the  multitudes  who  ask  me  the 
question.  My  respects  and  love  to  all  friends. 

Yours  affectionately, 

CHARLES  ADAMS. 

COLUMBUS 
I1 

It  is  indeed  a  novelty  in  the  diplomatic  world,  to  see  the  envoy 
of  a  foreign  nation  assuming  a  character  like  this.  The  French 
nation  have  been  justly  celebrated  for  their  skill  in  the  cabinet; 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  November  30,  1793.  The  correspondence  between  Genet 
and  the  Secretary  of  State  is  in  American  State  Papers,  Foreign  Relations,  !• 
141-148.  Genet's  despatches  to  his  own  government  are  in  Turner,  Correspondence 
of  the  French  Ministers  to  the  United  States,  1791-1797  (American  Hist.  Associa 
tion  Report,  1903). 

"  Washington  was  indeed  under  obligations  to  him  [J.  Q.  A.],  for  turning  the  tide 
of  sentiment  against  Genet,  and  he  was  sensible  of  it  and  grateful  for  it.  The 
enthusiasm  for  Genet  and  France  and  the  French  Revolution  was,  at  this  time, 
almost  universal  throughout  the  United  States,  but  in  Pennsylvania,  and  especially 
in  Philadelphia,  the  rage  was  irresistible.  ...  J.  Q.  Adams'  writings  first  turned 
this  tide ;  and  the  yellow  fever  completed  the  salvation  of  Washington.  .  .  .  Not 
all  Washington's  ministers,  Hamilton  and  Pickering  included,  could  have  written 
those  papers,  which  were  so  fatal  to  Genet.  Washington  saw  it,  and  felt  his  obli 
gations.  He  took  great  pains  to  find  out  their  author.  The  first  notice  I  had  of 
his  design  to  appoint  my  son  to  a  mission  abroad,  was  from  his  Secretary  of  State 
Randolph,  who  told  me  he  had  been  ordered  to  enquire  of  the  members  of  Congress, 
and  others,  concerning  the  life  and  character  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  and,  he  was,  that  day 
to  report  in  favor  of  his  appointment."  John  Adams  to  William  Cunningham,  Jr., 
October  13,  1808.  Cunningham  Correspondence,  35-37. 


17931  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  149 

they  have  produced  many  statesmen,  whose  talents  have  marked 
them  out  as  models  for  the  ministers  of  all  other  nations ;  but  this 
was  an  expedient  which  never  occurred  to  the  imagination  of  any 
of  them.  The  glory  of  the  discovery  was  reserved  for  Genet  alone, 
and  the  future  d'Ossat's,  d'Avaux's,  d'Estrade's,  and  Torcy's  of 
his  country,  may  look  back  with  reverence  to  him  as  the  original 
inventor  of  the  science  of  typographical  negotiation. 

In  a  country  where  genuine  freedom  is  enjoyed,  it  is  unquestion 
ably  the  right  of  every  individual  citizen,  to  express  without  control 
his  sentiments  upon  public  measures  and  the  conduct  of  public 
men.  Because  the  rulers  of  freemen,  being  only  the  dispositaries 
of  their  power,  are  accountable  to  them  for  the  execution  of  the 
trust,  and  the  treasure  of  public  liberty  being  common  property, 
every  individual  is  authorised  and  required  to  contribute  his 
assistance  for  its  security.  This  privilege  ought  not,  however,  in 
common  cases,  to  be  extended  to  the  conduct  of  foreign  ministers. 
So  long  as  the  agent  of  a  friendly  nation  confines  himself  within 
the  circle  of  his  own  rights,  however  offensive  the  demands  he  is 
instructed  to  make  may  be,  the  pretensions  of  his  country  ought 
not  to  be  a  subject  of  personal  animadversion  upon  him.  The 
Ambassador  is  amenable  to  his  constituents  for  the  execution  of 
his  trust,  and  even  in  an  enemy  the  character  should  be  respected. 
But  if  the  Ambassador  on  his  part  descends  from  that  station  ;  if 
he  publicly  damns  with  one  dash  of  his  pen,  all  the  known  rules  and 
customs  established  in  the  intercourse  of  nations,  if  he  openly  dis 
claims  all  submission  to  the  authority,  and  respect  for  the  opinions 
of  the  writers  who  have  been  by  the  consent  of  all  civilized  nations, 
acknowledged  to  contain  the  true  principles  of  national  justice  and 
equity;  if  he  professes  loudly  a  determination  to  appeal  from  a 
constitutional  to  an  unconstitutional  tribunal,  in  the  country 
where  he  resides;  if  he  threatens  to  negotiate  with  the  people, 
without  any  authority  or  commission  from  his  own  sovereign 
for  that  purpose,  if  he  is  constantly  pouring  forth  in  the  public 
prints,  a  stream  of  abuse,  under  the  shape  of  Letters,  of  Addresses, 
of  Remonstrances,  and  Protests,  against  the  very  government  to 


150  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

which  he  was  accredited,  he  thereby  renounces  all  the  privileges 
which  surrounded  his  public  character,  and  makes  himself  ob 
noxious  to  every  feather  in  the  wing  of  wit,  and  every  shaft  in  the 
quiver  of  satire.  .  .  . 

"And  I,  too,  am  a  scribbler."  I,  too,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  have  the  right  to  express  my  opinion  upon  the  pretensions 
of  Citizen  Genet.  Numerous  as  have  been  the  animadversions 
of  the  public  upon  his  conduct,  there  are  yet  some  points  of  view, 
in  which  it  has  not  been  sufficiently  considered.  I  have  no  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  man,  nor  feel  any  personal  resentment  or 
animosity  against  him.  My  sentiments  for  his  country,  like  those 
of  every  true  American,  are  those  of  a  partial  attachment;  but 
as  in  my  opinion  his  actions  bespeak  him  the  most  implacable 
and  dangerous  enemy  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  my  country, 
I  hold  it  to  be  a  moral  and  religious  duty,  to  support  the  opinion 
with  the  reasons  upon  which  it  is  grounded. 


When  the  Minister  from  the  French  Republic  declared  his 
determination  to  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  regular  and 
constituted  authority,  upon  the  construction  of  certain  treaties,  to 
the  people  of  America,  the  first  sentiments  which  the  declaration 
excited  in  the  breasts  of  that  people,  was  the  spontaneous  emotion 
of  the  heart.  They  considered  it  as  an  insolent  outrage  offered 
to  the  man,  who  was  deservedly  the  object  of  their  grateful  affec 
tion  ;  as  an  insult  upon  the  character  of  their  common  friend  and 
benefactor,  and  they  spurned  the  attempt  to  degrade  their  Hero, 
with  scorn  and  disdain.  "The  people,"  says  Junius,  "are  seldom 
mistaken  in  their  opinions,  in  their  sentiments  they  are  never 
wrong."  When  the  Americans  were  rudely  called  upon  to  pro 
nounce  upon  the  conduct  of  the  patriot,  whose  disinterested  virtues 
and  superior  talents  had  been  employed  in  their  service  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  ;  whose  generous  magnanimity  had 
supported  them  in  the  most  distressing  moments  of  national 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  December  4,  1793. 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  151 

depression ;  whose  expanded  patriotism  had  participated  with 
rapture  in  the  most  blissful  scenes  of  national  exultation ;  the 
glory  of  their  war,  and  the  ornament  of  their  peace ;  when  a 
beardless  foreigner,  whose  name  was  scarcely  enrolled  upon  the 
catalogue  of  Liberty;  a  petulant  stripling,  whose  commission 
from  a  friendly  power  was  his  only  title  to  their  respect,  and 
whose  only  merit  was  his  country,  presumed  to  place  himself  in 
opposition  to  the  father  of  their  country,  and  to  call  for  their  appro 
bation  to  support  his  claims,  they  viewed  the  application  as  an 
indignity  offered  to  themselves,  and  even  before  their  judgment 
had  deliberated  upon  the  merits  of  the  case,  they  rejected  the 
arrogant  pretensions  of  the  foreigner,  with  pointed  indignation. 

When  they  came,  however,  to  consider  the  transaction  indepen 
dent  of  any  reference  to  their  own  prepossessions  and  feelings 
they  immediately  perceived,  that  the  earlier  decision  of  their 
judgment  was  perfectly  conformable  to  the  dictates  of  their  hearts 
and  that  the  voice  of  reason  and  justice  was  in  exact  unison  with 
that  of  their  affections.  They  had  delegated  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  the  power  to  regulate  their  commercial  inter 
course  with  foreign  nations.  They  had  delegated  to  the  President, 
the  power  of  negotiating  with  the  ministers  of  foreign  power, 
and  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties  with 
them.  They  had  specially  directed  their  President  in  the  Consti 
tution,  which  denned  his  authority  and  prescribed  his  duties, 
to  "take  care,  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed  ;"  and,  if,  in  the 
course  of  his  administration,  a  difference  of  opinion  upon  the  mean 
ing  of  a  national  compact  should  arise  between  him  and  the  agent 
of  a  foreign  power,  they  had  not  reserved  to  themselves  the  right 
of  judging  between  them.  Nor  did  they  imagine,  that  they  had 
thereby  imparted  to  their  Chief  Magistrate,  a  power  in  the  smallest 
degree  arbitrary.  For  if  the  construction,  upon  which  his  measures 
were  grounded,  should  be  erroneous,  they  had  provided  a  judiciary 
power,  competent  to  correct  his  mistakes.  If  he  proceeded  upon  a 
wilful  and  treacherous  misinterpretation,  they  had  secured  the 
means  of  removing  him  from  his  office  by  impeachment;  but 


152  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

in  either  case,  they  had  retained  no  appelate  jurisdiction  to  them 
selves.  It  was  therefore  clearly  demonstrated,  that  the  inten 
tion  of  the  Minister,  was  no  less  hostile  to  the  Constitution, 
than  insulting  to  the  government  of  the  Union.  Nor  was  the 
measure  of  the  Envoy  supported  by  a  shadow  of  right  on  his  part. 
A  foreign  Agent,  his  official  powers  were  circumscribed  within  the 
limits  of  his  commission ;  and  his  right  to  negotiate  was  only 
commensurate  with  his  credentials.  Where  then  was  the  com 
mission  ;  where  were  the  credentials,  which  authorised  him  to 
treat  with  the  people  of  America,  through  any  other  medium  than 
that  of  their  government  ?  He  had  not,  he  could  not  have  any  at 
all,  and  the  impotent  menace  of  the  Minister  could  serve  no  other 
purpose,  than  to  betray  the  ignorance  and  heedless  rashness  of 
the  man. 

The  few  remaining  partizans  of  the  citizen  Minister  among  us 
were  aware  of  the  inauspicious  operation,  which  this  declaration 
would  have  upon  the  public  mind,  and  struggled  with  fruitless 
endeavor,  to  extricate  him  from  the  net  which  his  own  folly  had 
woven  ;  they  shuffled  and  equivocated  ;  they  quibbled  and  denied  ; 
but  their  ingenuity  could  not  keep  pace  with  his  impetuosity. 
No  sooner  did  their  toilsome  industry  raise  a  feeble  rampart  in 
his  defence,  than  his  own  violence  would  immediately  batter  it 
down.  Did  they  venture  to  dispute  the  fact  ?  He  was  ready 
to  produce  " damning  proof"  against  himself,  and  with  many 
self-admiring  commendations  upon  his  own  republican  frankness 
and  energy,  to  silence  every  friendly  sceptic,  by  an  avowal  of 
his  guilt.  Did  they  strain  every  nerve  to  create  a  distinction  in 
his  behalf,  and  explain  his  intention  of  appeal,  to  be  merely  an 
insult  upon  the  person  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  and  not  upon 
the  government  of  America?  He  was  sure  to  disclaim  so  frail  a 
discrimination,  and  to  declare  that  he  was  incapable  of  disrespect 
to  the  "Hero  of  Liberty,"  but  that  his  threat  was  pointed  at  the 
government  of  the  Union.  It  was  in  vain  to  search  for  precedents 
of  diplomatic  impudence,  to  give  a  color  of  authority  to  his  proceed 
ings  ;  worm-eaten  records  of  elder  times,  the  musty  prescriptions  of 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  153 

superannuated  wisdom,  could  afford  no  measure  for  the  mighty 
grasp  of  his  aspiring  ambition.  The  learned  sages  of  national 
jurisprudence,  whose  indefatigable  labors  had  compiled  a  system 
of  rules  for  the  conduct  of  sovereign  powers,  founded  upon  the 
immutable  laws  of  natural  justice,  and  the  immemorial  practice  of 
civilized  nations,  had  too  long  been  rewarded  for  their  exertions, 
by  the  veneration  of  ages.  They  had  all  written  in  chains,  and 
could  therefore  be  no  guides  for  him  who  had  been  so  recently  let 
loose. 

The  appeal  is  therefore  made.  Addresses  to  the  Republicans 
of  New  York;  Letters  to  the  President  of  the  Union;  Letters  to 
Citizen  Duplaine,  to  General  Moultrie;  Letters  to  the  Secretary  of 
State;  Letters  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Massachusetts; 
Protests  against  the  revocation  of  Citizen  Duplaine's  exequatur, 
"and  all  the  weapons  of  a  wordy  war,"  crowd  in  rapid  succession 
upon  the  public  prints;  as  if  the  judgment  of  the  people,  like  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven,  were  to  be  taken  by  violence.  But  though 
the  Minister  "can  call  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep,"  yet  it 
is  beyond  the  reach  of  his  magic,  to  "make  them  come 
when  he  calls  for  them."  The  people  hear  his  ravings,  with  the 
same  indifference,  that  they  hear  the  roaring  of  the  ocean  on 
the  beach.  It  is  the  evidence  of  a  tempest  at  a  distance, 
which  heightens  their  enjoyment  of  the  serene  tranquility  of  their 
own  hemisphere.  The  Ambassador  finding  this  attempt  lately  to 
fail,  though  bafHed,  does  not  appear  to  be  disconcerted  :  his  original 
and  inventive  genius  multiplies  with  amazing  facility  the  American 
Jurisdictions,  and  in  the  fury  and  whirlwind  of  his  passions  for 
appealing,  he  appeals  not  only  to  the  people  of  America,  but  to  the 
Congress  of  the  Union,  and  to  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
also.  Appeal  at  any  rate  he  must;  and  as  he  has  already  been 
acknowledged  to  be  the  first  typographical  negotiator,  he  may 
with  equal  propriety  be  admitted  to  the  claim  of  the  first  Minister 
of  Appeals  upon  record. 

Waiving  for  the  present  any  observations  upon  the  two  last  of 
these  appeals,  which  are  equally  unwarrantable  with  the  first; 


154  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i793 

and  setting  aside  the  constitutional  objection  to  the  first,  which 
has  already  been  the  subject  of  some  of  the  preceding  reflections  ;  I 
must  now  request  your  indulgence,  Mr.  Russell,  with  a  few  remarks 
upon  the  mode  in  which  the  Minister  has  conducted  his  appeal  to 
the  people,  and  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  constitutional  policy,  which 
has  entrusted  the  exclusive  right  of  political  communication  with 
foreign  powers  to  the  government  of  the  Union. 

The  declaration  of  the  Ambassador,  was  understood,  at  the 
time,  as  meaning,  that  he  would  raise  an  insurrection  of  the 
people  against  the  measures  of  the  government.  It  could  not 
easily  admit  of  any  other  construction,  because  insurrection  is 
the  only  method  whereby  the  people  can  reverse  the  decisions  of 
their  government.  If  however  any  doubt  could  be  entertained  of 
the  meaning  conveyed  by  the  expression,  the  uniform  tenor  of  every 
measure  adopted  by  the  Minister  since  that  period,  serves  to 
confirm  the  opinion  which  was  formed  at  first.  The  numerous 
newspaper  publications  which  have  been  already  mentioned,  are  so 
many  addresses  to  the  people  of  America;  else  why  is  the  corre 
spondence  of  a  foreigner  intruded  upon  the  American  public  ?  All 
those  letters,  addressed  to  particular  individuals,  that  pretended 
answer  to  a  complimentary  address  from  the  republicans  of  New 
York,  that  doughty  protest  against  the  dismission  of  citizen 
Duplaine,  crammed  like  a  loaded  blunderbuss,  with  all  the  future 
vengeance  of  the  French  republic,  all  must  be  considered  as  the 
mere  vehicles  of  sedition  against  the  government  of  the  Union. 
Else  why  are  a  few  citizens  of  New  York  addressed  as  constituting 
the  whole  American  Republic  ?  And  why  is  an  official,  though 
very  irregular  communication  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  this 
commonwealth,  immediately  published  in  the  newspapers,  by  the 
authority  of  the  protestor,  before  anything  has  been  transacted 
upon  it  ?  No  doubt  they  are  all  meant  as  appeals  to  the  people 
of  America;  appeals  to  their  generosity,  appeals  to  their 
gratitude,  but  above  all,  appeals  to  their  fears.  The  peo 
ple  of  America,  however,  are  not  easily  terrified  or  cajoled 
into  measures  apparently  destructive  to  their  own  happiness. 


i793]  JOHN  QUIXCY  ADAMS  155 

The  resentment  of  the  whole  nation  was  not  easily  to  be  excited 
without  a  cause,  against  a  government  which  was  daily  gaining 
upon  all  their  affections  by  promoting  their  happiness.  Mr. 
Genet  therefore  endeavors  to  support  his  failing  influence  by  con 
necting  himself  and  his  interests  with  a  particular  party  of  Ameri 
can  citizens,  separate  from  the  whole  body  of  the  people :  a 
party  professing  republican  sanctity  beyond  the  rest  of  their 
fellow-citizens,  and  scarcely  endeavoring  to  disguise  sentiments, 
hostile  to  the  national  government  of  the  country.  How  far  this 
connection  has  proceeded,  and  whether  any  regular  plan  of  opera 
tions  has  been  concerted  between  these  new  associates,  cannot 
be  fully  ascertained  ;  but  we  have  known  an  American  jury,  com 
pelled  by  the  clamors  of  a  collected  multitude,  to  acquit  a  prisoner 
without  the  unanimity  required  by  our  laws.  We  have  heard  of 
printed  caricatures  circulating  through  Philadelphia,  representing 
the  President  of  the  Union,  and  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
with  guillotine  suspended  over  their  heads.  We  have  seen  twenty 
citizens  of  Boston,  all  of  them  inoffensive,  many  of  them  personally 
respectable,  held  up  as  objects  of  detestation,  to  the  crew  of  a 
French  armed  vessel,  and  posted  at  the  mast ;  we  have  known  a 
citizen  of  New  York,  and  a  member  of  their  Legislature,  threat 
ened  by  an  anonymous  assassin  with  inevitable  death,  for  ex 
pressing  with  the  freedom  of  an  American,  his  opinion  upon  the 
proceedings  of  the  Minister  ;  and  we  now  witness  the  formation  of  a 
lengthening  chain  of  democratic  societies,  assuming  to  themselves 
the  exercise  of  privileges,  which  belong  only  to  the  whole  people, 
and  under  the  semblance  of  a  warmer  zeal  for  the  cause  of  liberty, 
than  the  rest  of  the  people,  tacitly  preparing  to  control  the  oper 
ations  of  the  government  and  dictate  laws  to  the  country.  Here 
tofore,  in  the  most  exasperated  times  of  our  political  dissentions, 
upon  occasions  when  the  public  mind  had  been  raised  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  irritation,  the  sacred  obligations  of  a  jury,  have 
always  been  preserved  inviolate,  and  no  American  ever  thought 
of  giving  a  bias  to  their  decisions,  by  the  menace  of  external 
violence;  as  little  would  an  American  villain  have  thought  of 


156  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

the  guillotine  as  an  instrument  of  punishment.  The  proscription 
of  our  citizens  under  the  designation  of  aristocrats  was  evidently 
effected  by  a  combination  of  foreign  habits  with  domestic  malice. 
Even  the  expedient  of  threatening  assassination  by  anonymous 
letters,  was  I  believe  unprecedented  among  us  :  And  as  to  the 
democratic  societies,  they  are  so  perfectly  affiliated  to  the  Parisian 
Jacobins,  that  their  origin  from  a  common  parent  cannot  possibly 
be  mistaken.  These  symptoms  never  originated  in  the  healthy 
constitution  of  American  freedom ;  they  are  all  indications  of  an 
imported  distemper,  a  distemper  in  comparison  with  which,  if  it 
should  spread  over  the  continent,  the  pestilence  which  has  so 
lately  depopulated  a  sister  city,  and  called  for  the  exertions  of  all 
our  tenderest  sympathies,  was  a  public  blessing. 

To  divide  in  order  to  govern,  has  been  one  of  the  favorite 
maxims  of  political  villany,  ever  since  the  relative  stations  of 
tyrant  and  slave  have  been  the  fashion  of  the  world.  Every 
public  measure  of  the  French  Minister,  since  the  profession  of 
his  resolution  to  appeal,  may  be  traced  to  the  policy  of  arming  one 
part  of  America  against  the  other.  His  intended  application  to 
Congress  to  pass  his  official  conduct  under  their  examination 
militates  against  all  the  principles  which  he  has  professed  as  much 
as  against  the  American  constitution  ;  but  he  expects  it  will  furnish 
him  with  an  opportunity  to  "place  under  the  inspection  of  every 
member,  his  instructions,  his  correspondence,  his  conferences,"  and 
if  the  whole  body,  in  imitation  of  their  constituents  should  turn 
their  ear  from  the  voice  of  the  charmer,  some  individuals  may  per 
haps  be  found  among  them,  who  will  listen  with  complacency. 
If  he  cannot  corrupt  the  sacred  fountain  of  legislation,  he  hopes  at 
least  to  poison  some  of  the  streams  which  flow  from  it.  If  he  can 
not  make  the  Congress  itself  subservient  to  his  factious  purposes,  he 
expects  at  least  to  inflame  the  divisions,  which  have  naturally 
arisen  from  the  collision  of  opinions  and  interests  in  an  assembly 
of  freemen.  By  dividing  the  parts,  he  hopes  to  control  the  whole. 

The  same  disposition  is  discovered  in  his  application  to  the 
commander  in  chief  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  in  his  demand  that 


1793]  JOHN  QUIXCY  ADAMS  157 

the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  should  suspend  their  legislative 
functions  to  sit  as  a  court  of  judication  upon  the  official  conduct 
of  Duplaine.  He  could  not  imagine  that  our  general  court  had 
forgotten  the  interdiction  pronounced  by  the  constitution  of  the 
state,  against  the  exercise  on  their  part  of  any  judicial  powers, 
other  than  those  which  are  necessarily  involved  in  the  execution  of 
their  legislative  duties  :  —  But  the  nice  and  delicate  interstructure 
of  our  general  and  particular  governments  had  not  escaped  his 
penetration.  He  saw  two  mighty  powers  participating  in  large 
portions  of  the  American  sovereignty.  He  perceived  that  although 
they  had  been  skillfully  contrived  to  co-operate  in  conducting 
the  affairs  of  the  people,  yet  that  the  several  proportions  of  the 
public  authority  had  not  been  distributed  between  them  with  such 
perfect  accuracy,  as  to  leave  their  respective  rights  in  every  in 
stance  unquestionable.  Had  not  his  acquaintance  with  the 
operations  of  the  human  heart  informed  him  of  the  natural 
tendency  which  two  separate  and  concurrent  powers  must  have 
to  mutual  hostility,  a  recent  occurrence  which  has  appeared  since 
his  arrival  in  America,  might  have  taught  him  that  when  "two 
authorities  are  up;  neither  supreme;  confusion  may  be  most  easily 
introduced  into  the  gap,  to  take  the  one  by  the  other"  From  a  com 
parative  view  of  all  these  transactions,  it  appears  therefore  clear, 
as  the  noon-day  beam,  that  the  intention  of  the  Ambassador  has 
been  to  lay  hold  of  every  prejudice,  to  fasten  upon  every  passion, 
which  could  be  raised  in  opposition  to  the  government,  and  to 
weaken  the  force  of  United  America,  by  placing  its  component 
parts  in  hostile  array  against  each  other. 

And  now,  Sir,  do  not  the  consequences  of  this  foreign  usurpation 
force  themselves  with  irresistible  conviction  upon  the  heart  of 
every  American,  who  feels  interested  in  the  independence  of  his 
country  ?  Among  the  nations  of  antiquity,  the  Athenians  were 
equally  distinguished  for  the  freedom  of  their  government,  the 
mildness  of  their  laws,  the  sagaciousness  of  their  understanding, 
and  the  urbanity  of  their  manners.  Their  Constitution  was 
purely  democratic,  and  their  penal  laws  were  few ;  but  the  bare 


i$8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

appearance  of  a  stranger  in  the  assemblies  of  the  people,  they 
made  punishable  with  death,  from  a  deep  and  well-grounded 
conviction,  that  of  all  the  dangers  which  encompass  the  liberties 
of  a  republican  State,  the  intrusion  of  a  foreign  influence  into 
the  administration  of  their  affairs,  is  the  most  alarming,  and 
requires  the  opposition  of  the  severest  caution.  The  American 
Constitution  was  framed  upon  the  same  principles,  and  provides 
with  equal  vigilance,  though  in  a  different  form,  against  the  same 
evil.  It  has  entrusted  with  punctilious  nicety  all  the  political 
intercourse  of  the  country,  with  other  nations,  to  the  several 
departments  of  the  national  government.  It  does  not  permit 
any  of  the  States  upon  any  terms  whatever,  to  enter  into  a  treaty, 
alliance,  or  confederation ;  nor  without  the  consent  of  Congress 
so  much  as  to  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  a  foreign 
power.  And  if  the  wisdom  of  this  provision  needed  any  proof  in 
addition  to  the  whole  tenor  of  human  history,  the  train  of  events 
which  is  the  subject  of  these  remarks  would  support  it,  with 
"confirmation  strong  as  proof  of  holy  writ" 

In  a  state  of  civil  and  political  liberty,  parties  are  to  the  public 
body,  what  the  passions  are  to  the  individual.  And  as  the  passions 
are  said  to  be  the  elements  of  life,  so  the  animated  and  vivifying 
spirit  of  party  seems  to  be  essential  to  the  existence  of  genuine 
freedom.  Like  the  passions,  too,  it  is  a  prolifick  source  of  misery, 
as  well  as  of  enjoyment :  Like  them  it  requires  a  severe  and 
continual  exertion  of  restraint  and  regulation,  to  prevent  its 
breaking  out  into  excesses  destructive  to  the  Constitution.  It  can 
be  no  subject  of  lamentation  to  a  rational  mind,  to  perceive  the 
political  differences  which  arise  among  our  own  citizens.  Even 
the  degree  of  warmth  which  mingles  itself  in  our  civil  discussions, 
is  an  inconvenience  necessarily  connected  with  the  enjoyment  of 
our  most  valuable  rights ;  the  candidates  for  popular  favor  may 
endeavor  to  further  their  personal  views,  by  standing  forth  as 
the  advocates  and  champions  of  the  public  interest,  and  diversify 
their  claims  in  proportion  to  the  diversity  of  public  opinions ;  the 
people  suffer  no  detriment  from  their  animosities  ;  and  the  general 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  159 

welfare  is  perhaps  promoted,  by  placing  the  jealousy  of  one  patriot 
as  a  guard  over  the  ambition  of  another.  But  here  let  it  rest. 
The  interference  of  foreigners  upon  any  pretence  whatever,  in 
the  dissensions  of  fellow-citizens,  must  be  as  inevitably  fatal  to 
the  liberties  of  the  State,  as  the  admission  of  strangers  to  arbitrate 
upon  the  domestic  differences  of  man  and  wife  is  destructive  to 
the  happiness  of  a  private  family.  If  the  partizans  of  any  par 
ticular  faction  cease  to  rely  upon  their  own  talents  and  services 
to  support  their  influence  among  their  country  men,  and  link 
themselves  in  union  with  an  external  power,  the  principles  of  self- 
defence,  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  itself,  will  suggest  a 
similar  connection  to  their  opponents;  whichever  of  the  party 
nominally  prevails,  the  whole  country  is  really  enslaved  ;  alter 
nately  the  sport  of  every  caprice,  that  directs  the  conduct  of  two 
foreign  sovereigns,  alternately  the  victim  of  every  base  intrigue 
which  foreign  hatred  and  jealousy  may  disguise  under  the  mask  of 
friendship  and  benevolence. 

Is  this  a  condition  tolerable  to  the  imagination  of  American 
freemen  ?  Is  this  a  state  for  which  the  country  has,  with  such 
glorious  exertions,  strained  at  every  nerve,  and  bled  at  every  vein, 
in  throwing  off  the  shameful  fetters  of  a  foreign  bondage  ?  Was 
it  worthy  of  the  toils  which  our  sages,  and  our  heroes  endured  ? 
Was  it  worthy  of  the  generous  and  heroic  self-devotion,  which 
offered  the  slaughtered  thousands  of  our  friends  and  brethren,  as  a 
willing  sacrifice  at  the  holy  altar  of  American  Independence,  to  be 
made  the  miserable  bubbles  of  foreign  speculation,  to  be  blown  like 
feathers  to  and  fro  as  the  varying  breath  of  foreign  influence  should 
be  directed  :  to  be  bandied  about  from  one  nation  to  another, 
subservient  to  the  purposes  of  their  mutual  resentments,  and 
played  with  as  the  passive  instruments  of  their  interests  and 
passions  ?  Perish  the  American  !  whose  soul  is  capable  of  sub 
mitting  to  such  a  degrading  servitude  !  Perish  the  American, 
whose  prostituted  heart  could  forsake  the  genuine  purity  of  our 
national  worship,  and  offer  at  a  foreign  shrine  the  tribute  of  his 
slavish  adoration  ! 


160  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

It  was  to  eradicate,  as  far  as  human  skill  could  effect,  a  weed  so 
noxious  to  our  political  soil;  it  was  to  deprive  the  honourable  spies 
from  foreign  nations  of  the  means  of  tampering  with  particular 
portions  of  the  American  people,  that  the  policy  of  their  national 
Constitution  confined  their  agency  to  the  government  of  the 
Union.  Without  attempting  to  involve  ourselves  in  the  mazes  of 
ancient  history,  let  us  attend  only  to  the  occurrences  which  have 
happened  within  our  own  recollection.  If  we  inquire  what  is  the 
cause  which  has  been  within  a  quarter  of  a  century,  fatal  to  the 
Liberties  of  Sweden,  of  Geneva,  of  Holland,  and  of  Poland,  the  an 
swer  will  be  one  and  the  same.  It  was  the  association  of  internal 
faction,  and  external  power;  it  was  the  interference  of  other 
nations  in  their  domestic  divisions ;  and  if,  while  all  these  terrible 
examples  of  national  humiliation  and  misery  are  staring  us  in  the 
face,  we  behold  a  foreign  Agent  among  ourselves,  violating  the 
spirit  and  intention  of  our  Constitution,  and  pursuing  every 
measure  which  can  tend  to  involve  us  in  the  same  ruin,  and  add 
us  to  the  melancholy  catalogue  of  subjugated  freemen ;  while  we 
drop  a  tear  to  the  memory  of  their  Liberty,  let  us  remain  firm  and 
immoveably  faithful  to  our  own ;  and  remember  that  the  eye  of 
the  basilisk  is  less  to  be  dreaded,  than  the  designs  of  such  a  man. 

Ill1 

The  letter  from  the  Minister  of  the  French  Republic  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  relative  to  the  revocation  of  DUPLAINE'S  exe 
quatur,  has  been  a  fruitful  topic  of  speculation  to  the  American 
public.  The  mind  is  scarcely  capable  of  conceiving,  nor  the 
language  of  expressing,  a  sentiment  of  disgust  and  indignation, 
but  what  has  been  liberally  bestowed  upon  this  singular  ebullition 
of  diplomatic  frenzy.  Even  the  most  strenuous  advocates  of  our 
dependence  upon  France  have  at  length  been  compelled  to  separate 
the  cause  of  the  country  from  that  of  the  man,  and  to  abandon  the 
justification  of  the  representative,  while  they  still  affect  to  dread 
the  resentment  of  his  constituents.  They  pretend  to  think  that 

1  Columbian  Ccntinel,  December  7,  u,  and  14,  1793. 


1793]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  161 

the  government  of  France  will  support  the  extravagance  and 
violence  of  the  Minister;  that  they  will  countenance  his  excesses 
which  his  warmest  American  friends  dare  not  attempt  even  to 
extenuate,  and  that  although  the  forms  of  his  proceeding  do 
not  admit  of  palliation  or  excuse;  yet  the  substance  of  his  ob 
jections  against  DUPLAINE'S  dismission  was  without  founda 
tion,  as  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  not  expressly 
authorized  by  the  constitution  to  revoke  the  exequatur  of  a  French 
Vice-Consul. 

It  is  by  no  means  my  intention  to  intrude  myself  unauthorized, 
unthought  of,  and  uncalled  for,  upon  the  public,  as  the  champion 
or  defender  of  the  President's  measures.  I  could  have  wished  it 
were  possible  that  an  examination  of  the  Ambassador's  conduct  and 
pretensions,  might  have  been  made  altogether  independent  of  any 
reference  to  the  proceedings  of  our  own  government.  Because 
on  the  one  hand  it  is  so  easy  to  attribute  sinister  motives  to  a 
political  writer,  that  I  should  have  been  desirous  to  avoid  any  dis 
cussion  which  might  be  suspected  of  originating  in  private  purposes  ; 
and  on  the  other,  being  totally  unconnected  with  the  illustrious 
character  at  the  head  of  the  union,  and  with  the  government  over 
which  he  presides,  I  can  reason  on  the  propriety  of  their  measures 
only  from  what  is  publicly  known,  and  may  possibly  contribute 
to  weaken  the  effect  of  their  authority,  by  an  attempt  to  support 
it  upon  the  grounds  which  they  perhaps  would  disclaim.  A  good 
cause  is  often  injured  by  an  unskilful  defence,  and  an  unsuccessful 
effort  always  lessens  the  facility  of  a  practical  operation.  But  in 
this  instance  the  refutation  of  Mr.  GENET'S  absurdities  necessarily 
involves  a  consideration  of  the  question  in  which  they  originated ; 
and  the  evidence  of  his  folly  cannot  be  produced  without  bearing 
testimony  to  the  wisdom  of  his  opponents.  I  must  therefore  be  per 
mitted  to  take  an  enlarged  view  of  the  subject,  and  in  animadvert 
ing  upon  the  strange  and  novel  principles  advanced  by  the 
Ambassador,  to  make  some  cursory  observations  upon  the  prin 
ciples  against  which  he  has  declared  such  relentless  war. 

In  the  month  of  June  last,  ANTOINE  CHARBONET  DUPLAINE 


162  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

received  from  the  President  of  the  United  States  an  exequatur 
recognizing  him  as  Vice-Consul,  for  the  Republic  of  France,  within 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island, 
and  declaring  him  free  to  exercise  and  enjoy  such  functions,  powers 
and  privileges,  as  are  allowed  to  Vice-Consuls  of  the  French  Re 
public,  by  the  laws,  treaties,  and  conventions  in  that  case  made  and 
provided. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  October  last,  the  President,  by  letters 
patent  under  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  did  wholly  revoke  and 
annul  the  above  mentioned  exequatur,  and  declared  the  same  to  be 
absolutely  null  and  void  from  that  day  forward. 

The  reason  assigned  by  the  President  for  this  revocation,  in 
the  letters  patent,  is  "that  the  said  DUPLAINE  having  under  color 
of  his  said  office  committed  sundry  encroachments  and  infractions 
on  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  particularly  having  caused  a  vessel 
to  be  rescued  with  an  armed  force  out  of  the  custody  of  an  officer 
of  justice,  who  had  arrested  the  same  by  process  from  his  court,  it 
was  therefore  no  longer  fit  nor  consistent  with  the  obedience 
due  to  the  laws,  that  the  said  DUPLAINE  should  be  permitted 
to  continue  in  the  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  the  said  functions, 
powers,  and  privileges." 

It  is  this  revocation  of  which  Mr.  GENET  in  his  letter  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  State,  by  a  well  chosen  expression,  hastens  to  declare 
that  he  does  not  acknowledge  the  validity.  The  reasons  that  he 
gives  for  his  hasty  declaration  are,  "that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  has  not  given  the  President  the  right  of  exercising 
this  authority ;  and  that  it  can  be  exerted  only  by  the  sovereign  of 
the  agent,  or  by  the  one  to  which  he  is  sent."  He  therefore  demands 
of  the  President,  to  procure  an  examination  by  the  Legislature, 
representing  the  sovereign  people  of  Massachusetts,  of  the  conduct  of 
Citizen  DUPLAINE,  and  modestly  recommends  to  the  President's 
imitation  his  own  (that  is  the  Minister's)  example  in  demanding 
of  Congress  an  examination  of  his  conduct.  He  insists  with  the 
more  confidence  upon  this  step,  because  a  popular  and  virtuous 
Jury,  three  times  threw  out  the  complaint  of  the  Attorney  for  the 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  163 

District  of  Boston,  against  Citizen  DUPLAINE,  who,  he  says,  was 
finally  acquitted  in  the  most  honourable  manner. 

Here  then  are  blended  in  a  confusion,  which  can  be  accounted 
for,  only  from  the  haste  of  the  Ambassador,  three  very  distinct 
subjects  for  the  consideration  of  the  public.  The  first  is  the  denial 
of  the  President's  right  to  dismiss  a  Vice-Consul.  The  second  is  the 
right  of  examining  DUPLAINE'S  conduct,  attributed  to  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Massachusetts ;  and  the  third  is  the  assertion  of  the  Vice 
Consul's  innocence,  and  what  is  called  his  acquittal.  It  would 
perhaps  be  more  regularly  methodical  to  begin  with  the  considera 
tion  of  the  last  point,  in  which  the  whole  transaction,  whence  the 
contest  originated,  may  be  unfolded  to  the  public.  But  the  ques 
tions  of  right  are  altogether  independent  of  the  facts.  It  is  totally 
immaterial  to  the  question  relative  to  the  authority  of  the  President, 
whether  DUPLAINE  was  guilty  of  infringing  the  laws  of  the  land 
or  not.  Mr.  GENET  in  fact  affirms,  that  if  his  subaltern  had  been 
guilty  of  all  that  has  ever  been  laid  to  his  charge;  nay  that  if  a 
Consular  Agent  has,  under  colour  of  his  office,  committed  crimes 
as  atrocious  as  the  human  heart  is  capable  of  conceiving,  and  the 
hand  of  executing;  still  the  President  has  no  authority  to  revoke 
his  exequatur,  or  to  refuse  recognizing  him  as  any  longer  entitled 
to  the  enjoyment  and  execution  of  his  Consular  functions.  The 
examination  therefore  of  the  three  several  points  may  pursue  the 
course  which  arises  from  the  letter  itself. 

But  such  is  the  singular  incoherence  of  the  Minister's  political 
system,  that  before  we  can  be  admitted  to  the  examination  of  one 
principle  advanced  by  him,  we  are  obliged  to  contend  for  another, 
which  at  one  instant  he  formally  acknowledges ;  and  the  next 
moment,  still  more  formally  denies.  After  having  read  in  his 
letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  an  admission  that  the  sovereign, 
to  whom  a  minister  or  Consular  Agent  is  sent,  may  for  good  cause 
discharge  or  suspend,  or  send  them  away,  as  a  national  act  of 
justice,  it  might  have  been  expected,  that  this  principle  would  be 
considered  as  one  of  those  undisputed  points,  one  of  those  data  of 
national  jurisprudence,  upon  which  in  fair  argument,  a  train  of 


1 64  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

reasoning  might  be  founded,  without  a  previous  demonstration  of 
its  truth.  What  then  must  be  our  surprise,  when  we  perceive  that 
this  hair-brain'd  Hotspur  of  an  Envoy,  had  no  sooner  made  one 
rational  concession,  than  he  repents  of  it,  and  sends  off  post  haste, 
to  Citizen  DANNERY,  instructing  him  to  protest,  and  re-protest 
against  the  act  of  the  President,  as  assuming  a  power  which  the 
nation  itself  could  not  either  delegate  or  possess  ? 

Since  therefore  upon  his  more  mature  reflection,  he  has  thought 
fit  to  deny  the  right  of  the  nation  itself,  it  becomes  necessary  to 
follow  him  through  all  his  mazes,  and  to  consider  how  far  this  last 
assertion  is  warrantable. 

We  are  therefore  to  enquire,  whether  by  the  Laws  of  Nations, 
there  is  in  every  sovereign  and  independent  state,  a  power  compe 
tent  to  dismiss  the  agent  of  a  foreign  power  for  encroachment  upon, 
and  infringement  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  under  colour  of  executing 
the  duties  of  his  office  ? 

The  laws  of  nations,  it  is  well  known,  are  nothing  more  than 
the  principles  of  reciprocal  justice  and  equity,  which  common 
sense  and  natural  reason  dictate  as  having  the  greatest  tendency  to 
promote  the  mutual  advantage  and  happiness  of  all  nations  in 
their  intercourse  with  one  another.  They  derive  their  obligation 
from  that  fundamental  maxim  of  nature  and  religion,  to  do  unto 
others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us.  The  application 
of  this  universal  rule  of  right  gives  a  solution  to  every  political 
question  that  can  arise  among  nations  as  well  as  individuals. 
But  as  this  application  to  every  particular  transaction  between 
political  societies  might  occasion  perpetual  altercation  among  them, 
unless  some  less  comprehensive  principles  were  admitted  as  dedu- 
cible  from  it,  the  practice  of  all  civilized  nations  has  been  to  acknowl 
edge  these  subordinate  axioms,  because  they  have  heretofore  been 
acknowledged  in  similar  cases,  and  thus  custom  and  precedent  have 
always  been  admitted  as  authorities  in  support  of  any  national 
act,  which  does  not  evidently  militate  against  the  stronger  obliga 
tions  of  natural  justice. 

The  opinion   of  wise,   learned,   and  virtuous   men,   who   have 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  165 

made  the  science  of  national  jurisprudence  the  study  of  their 
lives,  and  who  have  published  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  the  result 
of  their  laborious  researches,  are  likewise  admitted  by  the  common 
consent  of  nations  to  have  much  weight,  as  evidence  of  the  con 
clusions,  which  in  particular  cases  are  to  be  drawn  from  the  general 
principle. 

It  is  readily  admitted,  that  all  arguments  derived  from  the  two 
latter  of  these  sources  of  national  law,  are  subject  to  the  correc 
tion  and  control  of  the  former,  and  can  have  no  force  otherwise 
than  as  they  are  conformable  to  it.  That  precedent  is  often 
iniquitous,  and  the  opinions  of  the  most  ingenious  and  instructive 
writers  are  sometimes  erroneous.  They  are  therefore  not  to  be 
implicitly  followed  as  infallible  guides,  but  to  be  recurred  to  as 
experienced  conductors,  and  consulted  as  impartial  advisers. 

When  therefore  the  French  Minister  "thanks  God,  that  he  has 
forgotten  what  GROTIUS,  PUFFENDORF  and  VATTEL  have  written 
upon  the  laws  of  nations,"  he  ought  to  be  told,  that  his  forgetfulness 
"is  not  a  thing  to  thank  God  on."  When  he  affirms  that  these 
writers  "were  hired  jurisprudists,  and  wrote  when  they  were  all 
enchained,"  he  asserts  what  is  not  true.  GROTIUS,  the  venerable 
and  successful  defender  of  the  Christian  Faith;  the  learned  and 
strenuous  supporter  of  the  freedom  of  the  sea;  the  firm  and 
dauntless  republican  asserter  of  his  country's  rights  against  the 
encroachments  of  princely  usurpation,  was  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  illustrious  of  men,  that  ever  adorned  and  dignified  the  human 
character.  PUFFENDORF  was  indeed  the  subject  of  a  monarchical 
government,  but  his  reputation  as  a  man  was  such  as  would  have 
done  credit  to  the  most  virtuous  Commonwealth  of  ancient  or 
modern  times  ;  and  his  system  as  a  writer  pursues  the  path  which 
GROTIUS  had  explored,  and  is  only  an  improvement  upon  his 
principles.  VATTEL  himself  declares  "that  he  was  born  in  a 
country  of  which  liberty  was  the  soul,  the  treasure  and  the  funda 
mental  law.  That  he  would  not  have  written  if  he  could  not 
have  followed  the  light  of  his  conscience.  That  nothing  re 
strains  his  pen,  and  that  he  was  incapable  of  prostituting  it  to 


166  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

flattery."  To  insult  the  memory  and  slander  the  reputation 
of  men  like  these,  of  men  whose  virtues  and  genius  have  deserved 
well  of  mankind,  does  as  little  credit  to  the  head  as  to  the  heart 
of  Mr.  GENET.  It  is  not  the  liberal  and  enlightened  spirit  of 
freedom,  but  the  furious  ignorance  of  the  Mahometan  barbarian, 
who  burnt  the  magnificent  library  of  Alexandria,  because  the  con 
centration  of  all  wisdom  and  all  virtue  in  the  Koran  rendered 
every  other  boon  useless  or  pernicious. 

If  however  the  Minister  shall  insist  upon  forgetting  all  the 
memorials  of  former  wisdom  ;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  permit 
the  Americans  to  retain  this  memory  as  a  companion  to  their 
senses.  They  have  no  disposition,  I  think,  to  plunge  into  the  same 
Lethean  stream,  and  if  any  of  their  devotion  should  be  excited 
upon  the  occasion,  they  will  rather  pay  their  tribute  of  gratitude 
to  the  common  parent  for  what  they  remember,  than  for  what  they 
have  forgotten;  rather  for  the  possession,  than  for  the  loss  of 
their  recollection. 

From  the  ground  of  natural  season,  upon  the  principles  of 
public  justice,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  that  some  power  should 
exist  in  every  country,  competent  to  remove  the  servant  of  another 
sovereign,  who  makes  the  duties  of  his  office  a  cloak  for  the  most 
violent  infraction  of  the  laws  of  the  land.  For  if  such  a  power 
does  not  exist,  then  the  lives,  the  liberty  and  the  property  of  the 
citizen  must  be  perpetually  at  the  mercy  of  a  stranger.  This  doc 
trine  is  too  absurd,  even  for  despotism  itself.  How  intolerable 
then  must  it  be  in  a  country  which  has  so  cautiously  protected 
the  enjoyment  of  those  blessings  against  all  internal  authority  ? 
The  expedient  proposed  by  Mr.  GENET  of  complaining  to  the 
Master  of  the  culprit,  and  obtaining  his  recall  or  dismission,  must 
in  many  instances  have  been  a  very  inadequate  remedy  for  the 
evil.  In  cases  of  minor  offences  which  do  not  require  a  speedy 
reparation,  and  where  the  removal  of  the  man  is  to  be  considered 
as  a  penalty  for  past,  rather  than  a  precaution  against  future  guilt 
—  this  mode  of  proceeding  may  be  adopted.  But  if  an  armed 
force  is  applied  to  resist  the  execution  of  the  laws ;  if  war  is  levied 


1793]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  167 

and  maintained  against  the  country  itself;  to  talk  of  an  examina 
tion  by  one  Legislature,  for  the  purpose  of  complaining  to  another, 
who  is  to  complain  again  to  a  power  at  three  thousand  miles 
distance,  which  must  twice  be  traversed  before  relief  can  be 
obtained  from  the  mischief,  what  is  it  but  to  add  insult  to  injury  ? 
Even  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  between  whom  the  regular 
communication  is  continual,  and  where  a  few  days  may  suffice 
to  fill  the  interval  between  the  demand  and  the  answer,  this  sup 
plicatory  remedy  would  frequently  be  ineffectual.  But  it  must 
be  less  than  the  shadow  of  a  remedy  between  France  and  America, 
with  an  Atlantic  ocean  rolling  between  them. 

There  is  another  reason  why  this  mendicancy  of  justice  ought 
not  to  be  the  only  means  of  obtaining  it,  because  it  would  leave  no 
alternative  between  a  degrading  dependence  of  the  party  injured 
upon  the  offender's  master  for  reparation,  and  the  miseries  of  war. 
For  suppose  the  complaint  and  the  demand  of  removal  made,  and 
suppose  the  Sovereign  of  the  criminal  refuses  to  recall  him,  pro 
fessing  to  be  doubtful  of  his  guilt,  or  determining  to  support 
him  in  it,  then  the  insulted  nation  must  either  plunge  headlong  into 
a  serious  war,  or  tamely  submit  to  see  its  authority  trampled  on 
and  despised,  without  relief  or  satisfaction.  Without  recurring 
to  any  writer  for  instruction  upon  this  point,  common  sense 
and  common  humanity  must  teach  us  that  the  interest  of  all 
nations  ought  to  multiply  as  far  as  possible  the  means  of  avoiding 
war. 

The  right  of  doing  justice  to  itself  is  very  distinct  from  that  of 
requesting  that  justice  be  done,  and  they  are  both  equally  necessary, 
inherent  and  unalienable  by  a  nation  as  much  as  the  right  of 
personal  liberty  in  an  individual. 

But  the  same  principle  of  reciprocal  benefit  and  utility  requires 
that  this  right  should  be  used  with  caution  and  reluctance;  that 
it  should  not  be  permitted  to  interfere  with  the  rights,  and  as  little 
as  possible  with  the  transient  interests  of  the  other  nation;  that 
it  should  be  exerted  only  on  occasions  of  heinous  offences  on  the 
part  of  the  foreign  agent,  and  that  the  measure  be  the  most  lenient  and 


i68  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

pacific  that  can  be  adopted,  competent  to  answer  the  end  of  national 
justice. 

The  refusal  to  acknowledge  the  offender  in  the  capacity  which 
has  supplied  him  the  means  of  guilt,  is  undoubtedly  an  act  of  this 
description.  By  depriving  him  of  the  power  of  repeating  the  crime, 
it  affords  a  security  against  his  evil  intentions  to  the  nation  which 
has  already  been  prejudiced  by  them,  and  therefore  is  a  com 
petent  remedy.  It  violates  none  of  the  natural  or  civil  rights 
of  the  man  himself,  and  is  therefore  entitled  to  the  praise  of  lenity. 
If  at  the  same  time,  care  is  taken  that  the  rights  and  interests  of 
his  constituents  suffer  no  detriment,  in  consequence  of  his  dis 
mission ;  the  justice  of  the  other  party  can  never  consider  it  as 
an  act  of  aggression.  The  denial  of  this  right  therefore  cannot 
be  justified  upon  any  principle  of  Natural  Reason. 

In  considering  the  subject,  on  the  footing  of  national  custom, 
we  shall  find  numerous  instances  of  public  Ministers  who  have  not 
only  been  discharged  from  the  execution  of  their  functions,  but 
even  sent  home  to  their  masters,  by  the  sovereign  to  whom  they 
had  been  sent,  and  not  unfrequently  with  a  demand  of  further 
punishment  of  the  offender.  The  practice  is  supported  by  the 
unanimous  concurrence  of  opinion  among  the  writers  upon  national 
law.  In  proof  of  this,  we  shall  recur  not  only  to  the  worm-eaten 
authors  whose  authority  is  disclaimed  by  Mr.  GENET,  but  to 
several  others  who  are  equally  with  them  entitled  to  his  contempt, 
and  the  reverence  of  mankind.1  .  .  . 

They  [these  quotations]  all  prove  that  even  a  public  Minister 
may  be  suspended  or  discharged  from  the  exercise  of  his  functions, 
byway  of  prevention,  and  sent  home  to  his  master  for  punishment, 
by  way  of  penalty.  If  then  this  measure  may  be  adopted  against 
an  Ambassador,  the  immediate  Representative  of  a  Sovereign ; 
against  a  Minister,  whose  sacred  office,  whose  inviolable  sanctity, 
whose  perfect  independence  are  so  strongly  dwelt  upon,  by  all 
the  writers  from  whom  these  extracts  are  made,  how  much  more 
forcible  is  the  conclusion  that  it  may  be  pursued  against  a  mere 

1  Here  followed  examples  drawn  from  Grotius  and  other  writers. 


1793]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  169 

Consular  Agent,  whose  character  by  the  same  laws  of  nations,  and 
even  by  the  express  stipulation  between  France  and  America,  is 
considered  as  vested  with  very  few  of  those  extraordinary  privileges 
and  immunities  which  are  allowed  to  public  Ministers. 

Now,  Sir,  all  the  arguments  which  are  contained  in  the  Protest 
against  the  revocation  of  DUPLAINE'S  exequatur,  are  founded  upon 
the  pretended  supposition  that  the  removal  of  a  foreign  Agent 
must  necessarily  be  a  limitation,  obstruction,  or  abolition  of  his 
master's  rights.  The  object  of  the  argument  which  you  have  now 
read,  is  to  prove  that  a  foreign  Agent  may  be  removed,  without 
affecting  the  right  of  his  constituent  at  all. 

The  right  of  the  nation  itself  being  established,  we  are  again 
brought  back  to  the  assertion  of  Mr.  GENET  in  his  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

In  this  letter,  as  it  has  been  before  observed,  he  acknowledges 
the  right  of  the  sovereign  to  discharge,  send  away,  or  suspend  the 
Ministers  of  foreign  nations,  or  their  consulary  agents,  but  denies 
that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  delegated  this 
authority  to  the  President. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  says  that  the  executive 
power  shall  be  vested  in  the  President.  That  he  shall  receive 
Ambassadors  and  other  public  Ministers,  and  that  he  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed.  In  committing  this  trust, 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  undoubtedly  gave  to  the  office 
which  they  invested  with  this  authority,  all  the  powers  which 
are  essential  to  its  fulfilment;  to  suppose  otherwise  would  be 
absurd  in  the  extreme.  The  idea  of  expressly  commanding  a 
man  to  do  a  particular  act,  and  at  the  same  instant  of  prohibiting 
all  the  means,  without  the  use  of  which  that  act  becomes  impossible, 
is  too  ridiculous  to  require  a  refutation.  When  therefore  the  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  commands  the  President  of  the 
Union  to  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  this 
prescription  is  of  itself  a  warrant,  authorising  him  to  do  any  act 
consistent  with  the  laws  of  the  land,  which  may  be  necessary  to 
answer  that  valuable  purpose. 


170  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

If  these  laws  are  violated  by  a  citizen  of  the  Union,  there  are 
forms  of  trial,  and  modes  of  punishment  prescribed  by  the  municipal 
laws  of  the  country ;  and  it  is  part  of  the  President's  duty,  by 
virtue  of  the  above  cited  clause,  to  take  care  that  these  be  applied 
with  efficacy.  But  if  the  infraction  is  committed  by  a  foreign 
agent,  under  pretence  of  executing  a  foreign  commission;  then 
the  offence  on  the  part  of  the  agent  is  an  offence  against  the 
Laws  of  Nations,  as  well  as  against  the  municipal  Law;  for  the 
injury  done  to  the  latter,  a  Consul  is  subject  to  the  same  judicial 
trial,  and  the  same  penalties  as  an  American  citizen.  But  for 
the  outrage  committed  against  the  Laws  of  Nations ;  for  the 
violence  offered  in  the  consular  capacity,  the  proceedings  of  the 
President,  in  taking  care  that  the  laws  be  executed,  must  be 
grounded  upon  the  Laws  of  Nations,  and  not  upon  the  foundation 
of  local  legislation. 

Now  by  the  Law  of  Nations  I  have  already  attempted  to  prove, 
that  a  foreign  agent,  whose  conduct  has  been  criminal,  may  be 
discharged  from  the  further  exercise  of  his  functions  ;  or  sent  home 
without  demand  of  punishment ;  or  sent  home  with  such  demand  ; 
or  sent  home  with  the  requisition  that  he  be  delivered  up  for 
punishment ;  and  the  only  question  that  can  remain  is,  whether 
by  the  Laws  of  Nations,  these  acts  of  severity  are  in  every  country 
properly  within  the  department  of  the  Executive  power  ? 

"  In  every  government,  there  are  three  sorts  of  power :  the 
Legislative ;  the  Executive  in  respect  to  things  dependent  on  the 
Law  of  Nations  ;  and  the  Executive  in  regard  to  things  that  depend 
on  the  civil  law."  1 

The  Executive  Power,  vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  comprehends  both  the  latter  of  these 
powers ;  since  it  authorises  him  to  receive  Ambassadors  and  other 
public  Ministers ;  and  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate,  who 
are  given  him  as  a  constitutional  council  for  those  purposes,  to 
send  Ambassadors  and  negotiate  Treaties.  The  dismission  of  a 
foreign  Agent  for  having  violated  the  Laws  is  clearly  in  its  own 

1  Montesquieu,  Spirit  of  Law,  XL  6. 


i793l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  171 

nature  an  Executive  Act.  It  cannot  be  necessary  to  prove  this; 
no  one  that  has  a  precise  idea  of  the  distinction  between 
Legislative  and  Executive  functions,  can  for  a  moment  hesitate 
to  acknowledge  it.  If  then  this  act  of  authority  is  in  its  own  nature 
an  Executive  Act,  the  right  to  perform  it  must  of  course  be  vested 
in  the  officer  to  whom  the  Constitution  has  committed  the  Execu 
tive  Power. 

The  truth  of  this  position  cannot  be  disputed,  without  denying, 
at  the  same  time,  the  right  of  the  President  to  deliver  the  exequatur, 
which  [it]  is  contended  he  cannot  revoke.  The  Consular  Conven 
tion  between  the  United  States  and  France  provides  that  "  the  Con 
suls  and  Vice  Consuls  shall  be  bound  to  present  their  Commissions, 
and  that  there  shall  be  delivered  to  them  without  any  charges,  the  ex 
equatur  necessary  for  the  exercise  of  their  functions."  Now  there 
is  no  clause  in  the  Constitution,  authorising  the  President  to  deliver 
this  exequatur,  which  by  the  stipulation  in  the  Convention  it  is 
agreed  shall  be  delivered.  The  right  is  not  expressly  contained  in 
the  authority  to  receive  Ambassadors  and  other  public  Ministers; 
for  Consuls  are  not  included  in  either  of  these  descriptions  by  the 
Laws  of  Nations,  and  they  are  excluded  from  them  by  the  Consular 
Convention.  But  the  delivery  of  an  exequatur  is  purely  an 
Executive  Act,  and  it  is  therefore  properly  performed  by  him,  in 
whom  the  Constitution  has  vested  the  Executive  Power.  The 
same  thing  is  to  be  said  of  its  revocation. 

I  believe  the  French  Minister  is  not  yet  prepared  to  contest  the 
right  of  the  President  to  deliver  the  exequatur.  Yet  his  conduct 
hitherto  must  warn  us  against  any  hasty  conclusion,  that  he  will 
be  deterred  from  a  measure  of  this  kind  by  the  absurdity  of  the 
thing.  Such  are  the  rules  of  his  logic  and  of  his  morality,  that  a 
past  acknowledgement  on  his  part  is  no  security  against  his  future 
denial  of  a  right  or  of  a  fact.  If,  therefore,  the  case  should  prompt 
him  to  deny  the  President's  right  to  grant  an  exequatur,  we  may 
be  permitted  to  remind  him,  that  by  this  denial  he  must  invalidate 
the  authority  which  has  been  and  still  is  ever  exercised  by  all  the 
French  Consuls  on  the  Continent.  The  exequatur  and  its  revoca- 


i;2  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1793 

tion  stand  upon  the  same  ground,  and  you  cannot  destroy  the  one 
without  annihilating  the  other. 

If  the  instrument  delivered  to  the  Consuls  by  the  President  is 
not  legalized  by  the  clauses  of  the  Constitution  which  vest  in  him 
the  Executive  Power,  and  direct  him  to  take  care  that  the  Laws  be 
faithfully  executed,  it  is  not  the  exequatur,  which  the  Consular 
Convention  declares  to  be  necessary,  for  the  exercise  of  their 
functions.  If  they  have  not  received  this  necessary  exequatur, 
all  their  official  proceedings  hitherto  have  been  null  and  void, 
and  the  revocation  of  an  instrument,  which  is  of  itself  a  nullity, 
cannot  possibly  be  to  them  a  reasonable  cause  of  complaint. 

I  am  aware  that  the  protest  affirms  that  "the  act  by  which  a 
government  acknowledges  the  character  of  foreign  Delegates  is 
not  on  its  part  a  formal  and  necessary  consent  to  their  political 
existence."  If  the  denial  of  this  position  rested  barely  upon  a 
counter  assertion  from  an  officer  of  the  American  government, 
perhaps  we  might  apply  the  adage,  "Who  shall  decide  when 
Doctors  disagree?"  But  as  the  express  letter  of  the  Consular 
Convention  declares  the  exequatur  necessary  for  the  exercise  of 
the  Consular  functions,  there  is  no  room  for  asking  any  questions 
on  the  subject. 

The  protest  further  says,  "the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
has  given  to  the  government  the  right  of  receiving,  not  of  dis 
missing  ;  for  acknowledging,  not  of  denying  foreign  Agents." 
The  same  idea  is  contained  in  the  Minister's  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  State.  I  have  already  said,  that  the  President's  authority  to 
deliver  the  exequatur  to  a  consul  is  not  founded  upon  the  clause 
which  empowers  him  to  receive  Ambassadors.  But  admit  that  it 
were,  does  not  the  right  of  acknowledging  necessarily  involve  that 
of  refusing  to  acknowledge  ?  Suppose  that  Mr.  GENET,  instead 
of  producing  a  commission  from  the  Executive  Council  of  the 
Republic  of  France,  had  brought  one,  under  which  his  conduct 
in  this  country  hitherto  would  have  been  natural  and  consistent, 
from  the  emigrant  Princes ;  according  to  his  principles,  the  Presi 
dent  must  have  received  and  acknowledged  him  in  that  capacity. 


1793)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  173 

Suppose  that  the  present  government  of  France  should  recall  Mr. 
GENET;  and  he  from  his  propensity  to  dispute  rights,  should 
hasten  to  declare  that  he  did  not  acknowledge  the  validity  of  the 
recall,  and  appeal  upon  the  question  to  the  Executive  Council, 
who  commissioned  him,  or  to  the  ex-Princes  above-mentioned, 
and  in  the  meantime  insist  upon  being  still  received  and  ac 
knowledged  as  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  France: 
The  President,  forsooth,  would  have  a  right  to  receive,  but  none  to 
dismiss  him  ;  a  right  to  acknowledge,  but  none  to  deny  him.  The 
doctrine  would,  no  doubt,  be  a  very  convenient  one  for  him,  and 
possibly  by  maintaining  it,  he  means  to  provide  for  his  future 
occasions.  It  is  well  to  be  secured  against  every  contingency,  but 
Mr.  GENET  must  not  rest  his  fate  upon  the  imbecility  of  the 
American  government. 

But  "the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  having  denied  the 
government  the  right  of  declaring  war,  this  prohibition  ought  to 
extend  itself  to  every  sort  of  offensive  act."    It  is  not  true  that  the 
Constitution  has  denied  the  government  the  right  of  declaring  war. 
I  am  not  disposed,   Sir,  to  cavil  upon  words,  and  am  willing  to 
make   every   allowance   for   the   blunders  of  Mr.  GENET'S  trans 
lators;   but  the  affectation  of  using  the  word  government,  instead 
of  the  proper  expression  of  President  of  the  United  States,  is  a  defect 
inherent  in  the  original,  and  may  easily  be  traced  to  the  embar 
rassment,  not  of  the  translator,  but  of  the  author  himself.     His 
recent  experience  had  taught  him  that  the  people  of  America  were 
not  in  a  temper  to  countenance  an  insult  upon  the  President  of  the 
Union  ;    and  he  thought  it  more  adviseable  to  veil  this  new  attack 
upon   his    authority,    under   the   cover   of   a   different   expression. 
The  protest  therefore   is   worded   against   an   act  of  the  govern 
ment,  which  the  revocation  is  not,  and  cautiously  avoids  speaking 
of  the   President,   who  is   really   the  object  of  the   attack.     The 
passage  here  cited  is  an  instance  of  the  manifest  absurdities  into 
which   his   awkward   expedient  had   led   him;    but  what  opinion 
must  he  entertain  of  the  American  understanding,  when  he  sup 
poses  that  it  can  possibly  be  the  dupe  of  so  miserable  an  artifice  ? 


174  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1793 

What  opinion  of  their  judgment,  when  he  thinks  them  less  attached 
to  the  government  of  their  country,  than  to  the  person  of  their 
chief  magistrate  ? 

When  he  tells  us  how  far  the  prohibition  ought  to  extend  itself, 
is  it  an  amendment  or  a  construction  of  the  Constitution,  that  he 
means  to  dictate  to  the  government  ?  If  an  amendment,  his 
command  implies  an  enlargement  of  the  functions  limited  by  the 
constitutional  act :  If  a  construction,  the  government  cannot  obey 
his  directions,  without  narrowing  their  defined  authority.  Just 
before  this  he  says  that  a  government  can  neither  enlarge  nor 
narrow  the  marked  limits  of  their  functions,  but  some  singular 
fatality  never  permits  him  to  advance  a  reasonable  position, 
without  compelling  him  immediately  to  contradict  himself,  and 
disclaim  his  transient  and  unnatural  coincidence  with  truth. 

Nor  is  it  true  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has 
reserved  to  the  Representatives  of  the  people  the  right  of  declaring 
war.  An  assertion  so  glaringly  false,  or  so  inexcuseably  inaccurate, 
affords  the  clearest  demonstration,  that  its  author  is  equally  desti 
tute  of  every  qualification  necessary  to  amend  or  to  construe  a 
Constitution. 

There  is  therefore  nothing  in  the  letter  of  the  Minister,  or  in  the 
protest  bearing  the  name  of  the  Consul,  but  made  by  his  superior's 
direction,  that  can  give  the  faintest  color  to  his  pretence,  that  the 
President  was  not  authorised  to  revoke  DUPLAINE'S  exequatur. 

But  if  the  President  has  this  authority,  he  may  involve  us  in  a 
War.  This  argument  applies  not  against  the  power,  but  the  abuse 
of  it.  If  the  foreign  Agent  is  dismissed  for  real  misconduct  on  his 
part,  the  dismission  gives  no  cause  of  complaint,  much  less  of  War 
to  his  master.  If  the  President  exerts  this  authority  without 
satisfactory  evidence  of  the  Agent's  guilt,  and  thereby  exposes  the 
country  to  the  first  resentment  of  a  foreign  power,  it  is  a  breach 
of  trust  for  which  he  is  liable  to  impeachment,  and  removal  from 
his  office.  There  is  no  doubt  but  the  execution  of  the  President's 
powers  might  be  such  as  would  involve  the  country  in  a  War.  By 
giving  or  refusing  his  assent  to  a  bill  he  might  produce  a  War ; 


1793]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  175 

by  performing  at  particular  junctures  any  part  of  his  acknowledged 
rights  he  might  occasion  a  War;  nay,  by  acknowledging  and  re 
ceiving  an  Ambassador  from  a  power  not  authorised  to  send  one, 
the  case  might  happen  that  he  must  inevitably  drive  the  Country 
into  a  War.  Yet  this  is  represented  not  only  as  an  authorised, 
but  even  an  obligatory  function  of  his  office,  by  the  Minister  him 
self,  both  in  his  letter  and  in  the  protest. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  made  the  Declaration 
of  War  a  Legislative  Act,  and  thereby  has  expressly  vested  the  right 
of  making  it  in  the  Congress,  to  whom  it  has  entrusted  the  Legis 
lative  Power.  This  principle  was,  no  doubt,  adopted  upon  the 
mature  deliberation,  and  upon  the  conclusion  drawn  by  the  framers 
of  the  Constitution,  and  by  the  people  of  America,  that  this  declara 
tion  properly  belongs  to  the  Legislative  Department  of  Govern 
ment.  But  the  Constitution  has  not  said,  that  the  President  shall 
perform  no  function  which  in  its  consequence  might  be  productive 
of  a  war.  Such  a  provision  would  have  been  tantamount  to  a 
declaration  that  the  President  should  have  no  powers  at  all. 

In  resuming  the  argument  which  is  now  submitted  to  the  public, 
the  principles  upon  which  it  is  grounded  may  be  reduced  to  the 
following  simple  positions  : 

That  there  is  in  this  country,  as  in  all  sovereign  states,  a  power 
competent  to  dismiss  the  agent  of  a  foreign  power,  for  any  heinous 
and  aggravated  offence  against  the  laws,  committed  by  him  under 
color  of  executing  his  office. 

That  the  exertion  of  this  authority,  from  the  nature  of  the  thing, 
and  by  the  practice  of  all  nations,  falls  properly  within  the  Execu 
tive  Department  of  Government. 

That  the  administration  of  foreign  affairs  is  delegated  to  the 
Government  of  the  Union,  and  the  executive  power  expressly 
vested  in  the  President. 

And,  therefore,  that  the  power  of  dismissing  such  a  criminal 
agent  is  strictly  within  the  limits  of  the  authority  constitutionally 
delegated  to  the  President. 

But  Mr.  GENET  does  not  allow  the  National  Government  so 


176  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

much  as  a  right  originally  to  complain  of  an  infraction  of  the  laws 
by  a  French  Vice-Consul.  He  insists  upon  investing  their  right 
exclusively  in  the  Legislature  of  the  state  where  the  offence  was 
committed  :  and  with  imperious  arrogance  calls  upon  the  President 
to  procure  an  examination  of  DUPLAINE'S  conduct  by  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Massachusetts.  Let  us  therefore  candidly  enquire,  whether 
this  measure  which  he  so  confidently  demands,  be  really  consist 
ent  with  the  laws  and  constitutions  which  guard  the  liberties  and 
secure  the  happiness  of  the  American  people.1 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

DEAR  SIR  :  QUINCY,  January  5,  1794. 

I  must  apologize  for  not  having  answered  before  this 
your  last  letter,  but  your  conjectures  with  respect  to  Colum 
bus  were  not  without  foundation,  and  what  with  politics  and 
law,  what  with  public  and  private  discussion,  I  have  scarcely 
had  a  moment  that  I  could  call  my  own  to  perform  my 
duties  to  you.  Columbus  has  been  attacked  in  the  Chronicle 
by  a  writer  under  the  signature  of  Americanus,  and  defended 
by  another  subscribing  himself  Barneveld?  Columbus  and 

1  The  fourth  communication  appeared  in  the  Columbian  Centinel,  December  18, 
1793,  and  was  confined  to  the  point  outlined  above.      The  letters  were  widely  copied 
and  called  out  many  replies.     "The  President,  however,  with  the  unanimous  con 
currence  of  the  four  officers  of  state,  has  formed  the  same  judgment  with  Columbus, 
and  I  hear  no  members  of   Congress  who  profess  to  differ   from    them."     John 
Adams  to  John  Ouincy  Adams,  December  14,  1793.     Ms.     "I  have  read  all  the 
numbers  with  attention,    and    consider    them  a  valuable    present  to  the    public, 
tending  to  place  in  a  true  and  just  point  of  view  the  conduct  of  a  man  who  has  dis 
graced  his  office,  and  made  himself  so  obnoxious  as  scarcely  to  be  entitled  to  common 
decency.     Partisans  may  rail,  but  sound  reason  will  enlighten  and  prevail."     Abi 
gail  Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  December  30,  1793.     Ms. 

2  The  letters  of  "Americanus"  were  printed  in  the  Independent  Chronicle,  be 
ginning  December  19;  those  of  "  Barneveld,"  in  the  same  paper,  beginning  Decem 
ber  26.     Both  series  ran  into  January,  1794.     Mrs.  Adams  wrote  on  January  12: 
"I  know  of  but  one  title  which  Americanus  has  to  respect,  and  that  is  what  nature 
could  not  withhold  from  him  —  age." 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  177 

Barneveld  we  are  told  are  one  and  the  same  person,  and 
the  discussion  is  therefore  still  protracted,  though  I  hope  it 
will  soon  be  closed. 

The  public  here  have  been  sufficiently  favorable  to  Co 
lumbus.  The  applause  which  from  many  different  quarters 
has  been  bestowed  upon  his  letters  in  private  conversations 
has  been  so  much  superior  to  their  merits,  that  I  dare  not 
repeat  the  observations  which  have  been  reported  to  me 
lest  you  should  suspect  the  author  of  vanity  beyond  the 
limits  of  common  extravagance.  In  one  of  the  last  Centinels 
there  is  a  sonnet  to  the  writer  of  Columbus  which  you  will 
probably  have  seen  before  this  reaches  you,  and  by  which 
you  will  perceive  that  even  the  Muses  have  promised  him 
the  wreath  of  glory  to  entwine  his  brows.  On  the  other 
hand  the  saturnine  genius  of  the  Chronicle  has  devoted  to 
ineffable  contempt  the  "petulance  and  affected  wit  of  Co 
lumbus  and  Barneveld,  most  of  which  (he  says)  is  A  SORT  of 
literary  plagiarism  from  Junius  " ;  they  are  called  the  "as 
pirations  of  family  pride"  and  the  "Juvenile  author"  is 
assured  that  he  will  not  be  rescued  from  contempt  even 
by  the  "high  station  of  his  sire." 

You  will  not  suspect  me  to  be  much  affected  by  criticisms 
like  this.  But  there  is  one  symptom  calculated  above  all 
others  to  congeal  every  source  of  future  exertion.  It  is  the 
manner  with  which  these  publications  are  received  by  some 
of  my  friends,  and  by  many  others,  who  would  be  clamorous 
enough  in  praise  of  the  sentiments,  if  they  were  not  dis 
posed  to  check  the  aspirations  of  the  writer.  The  public  is 
a  lady  having  so  many  admirers,  that  a  favor  is  not  to  be 
obtained  from  her  by  one  of  them  with  impunity.  And 
even  when  the  favor  desired  is  nothing  more  than  a  simple 
smile  of  approbation,  she  cannot  grant  it  without  exciting 
all  the  evil  energies  of  those  whose  ardor  aims  at  much  more 
familiar  caresses. 


i;8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

Yet  I  cannot  write  for  the  common  purposes  of  ambition. 
I  cannot  wish  to  be  the  rival  of  any  candidate  for  public  of 
fice  of  any  kind.  My  first  and  certainly  at  present  my  only 
object  is  to  run  with  honor  and  reputation  the  career  of  my 
profession,  and  whenever  I  have  joined  in  the  public  dis 
cussion  of  political  questions  it  has  certainly  been  from 
motives  more  patriotic  than  personal.  My  country  is 
entitled  to  my  services  however  small  their  value  may  be, 
and  if  she  will  but  approve  I  shall  not  ask  her  to  reward  them. 

The  state  of  our  public  affairs  assumes  an  appearance  not 
only  critical  but  alarming.  Yet  I  cannot  think  our  greatest 
danger  to  be  apprehended  from  external  enemies.  They 
may  distress  us,  but  we  can  be  ruined  only  by  ourselves. 
We  shall  soon  have  no  friends  on  this  side  heaven,  and  we 
shall  have  none  but  enemies  there,  unless  we  heal  in  some 
measure  our  internal  divisions.  To  conciliate  and  unite 
appears  to  me  at  the  present  moment  more  than  ever  the 
interest  and  duty  of  every  American.  With  respect  to 
Genet  and  his  frenzies,  the  object  is  in  some  measure  ac 
complished.  But  the  prime  agent  to  produce  this  effect 
has  been  his  own  folly.  I  wish  that  the  wisdom  of  others 
may  extend  the  principle  of  reconciliation  to  the  other  im 
portant  interests  of  the  country. 

The  winter  vacation  has  given  me  some  considerable  res 
pite  from  the  forms  of  attending  upon  courts ;  but  our 
Common  Pleas  commence  their  session  this  week,  and  for 
the  future  three  months  my  attention  will  again  be  directed 
to  my  own  concerns.  No  man  I  find  can  serve  two  masters, 
and  my  professional  studies  have  been  somewhat  neglected 
while  I  have  been  perplexing  myself  with  the  affairs  of  the 
nation.  The  Attorney  General  l  is  now  at  home,  so  that  I 
shall  of  course  be  superseded  in  my  official  ministration  at 

1  Sullivan. 


i?94l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  179 

the  sessions.  He  looks  at  me  with  less  complacency  than 
ever,  and  is  said  to  be  the  writer  of  Americanus.  He  in 
tends,  it  is  said,  to  stand  as  candidate  for  Governor,  and  I 
have  some  curiosity  to  see  how  he  will  manage  his  card  so  as 
to  keep  upon  terms  with  the  prophet  Samuel 1  and  his  party. 
Both  Jacobins,  both  Frenchmen,  both  pretending  to  be  the 
slavish  adorers  of  our  sovereign  lords  the  people.  It  is 
however  conjectured  by  some  that  Sullivan  will  crouch  and 
accommodate  by  taking  the  second  station.  This  would 
certainly  be  his  best  policy,  and  would  probably  unite  a 
strong  party  in  his  favor.  The  oldest  head  will  no  doubt 
wear  the  tiara,  but  his  ambition  will  perhaps  not  be  con 
tented  with  a  place,  which  would  deprive  him  of  his  present 
office,  which  is  doubly  lucrative,  and  perhaps  tie  up  his 
tongue  at  the  bar.  .  .  . 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  March  2,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR: 

You  will  doubtless  hear  before  this  reaches  you  the  event 
of  a  town  meeting  which  was  called  here  lately  2  for  the  pur 
pose  of  helping  forward  Mr.  Madison's  resolutions,3  and  of 

1  Samuel  Adams. 

2  February  24,   1794.     See  Columbian  Ctnlinel,  February    26,   1794,  and  Inde 
pendent  Chronicle,  February  27,  for  the  two  interpretations  of  the  proceedings. 

3  These  resolutions  were  intended  to  place  the  commerce  of  the  United  States 
upon  a  better  footing  by  imposing  heavier  duties  upon  the  goods  and  vessels  of 
nations  having  no  commercial  treaties  with  the  United  States  and  reducing  existing 
duties  upon  the  manufactures  and  shipping  of  those  having  treaties.     They  were 
printed  in  Annals  of  Congress,  jd  Cong.  155,  and  in  Writings  of  James  Madison 
(Hunt),  VI.  203.     Aimed  against  Great  Britain  because  of  seizures  of  American 
merchantmen  in  the  West  Indies,  they  sought  to  protect  the  rights  of  American 
citizens  from  violation  in  any  quarter.    They  aroused  much  party  feeling,  and  Madi 
son  felt  the  criticisms  and  abuse  directed  against  himself  and  the  resolutions  from 


i8o  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [i794 

intimidating  our  representatives  who  opposed  them.  After 
great  [exertions]  had  been  made  to  raise  a  Committee 
ready  for  everything,  [and  the]  Committee  had  reported  a 
number  of  resolves  to  answer  [their  purp]oses,  a  very  decided 
majority  of  a  crowded  town  meeting  voted  to  adjourn  with 
out  day,  and  did  not  even  hear  a  discussion  of  the  resolves. 
The  lurking  serpent  was  perceived  and  avoided.  The  com 
mercial  part  of  the  town  were  almost  unanimous,  and  the 
aversion  to  any  measures  which  might  be  productive  of  war 
appeared  very  decidedly  to  be  the  prevailing  sentiment  with 
the  citizens  of  every  description.  The  Jacobins  were  com 
pletely  discomfited,  and  will  have  the  mortification  to  find 
their  intended  poison  operate  as  an  invigorating  cordial. 

The  arrival  of  the  new  Minister  from  France  and  recall  of 
Genet  is  another  circumstance  of  mortification  to  the  same 
party.1  They  are  not  yet  sure  that  Mr.  Fauchet  will  imitate 
his  predecessor  by  connecting  himself  and  his  country  with  a 
desperate  faction  intent  upon  the  ruin  of  our  own  government ; 
and  while  that  remains  an  uncertainty,  they  feel  extremely 
fearful  of  losing  their  main  support.  I  hope  however  that 
the  new  plenipotentiary  will  pursue  a  different  system,  and 
that  we  shall  still  be  permitted  to  remain  at  peace. 

Our  Supreme  Court  has  been  sitting  about  a  fortnight. 
Without  being  overburdened  with  business  I  have  on  my 
hands  sufficient  to  employ  almost  all  my  time,  and  to  keep 

the  Eastern  States.  Of  this  meeting  he  wrote  to  Jefferson  :  "It  appears,  however, 
that  in  spite  of  all  these  diabolical  manoeuvres,  the  town  of  Boston  has  been  so  far 
awakened  as  to  have  a  meeting  in  the  town-house,  and  a  pretty  unanimous  vote 
for  a  committee  to  consider  the  subject,  and  report  proper  instructions  for  their 
member  in  Congress.  The  Committee  consists  of  men  of  weight,  and,  for  the  most 
part,  of  men  of  the  right  sort.  There  are  some,  however,  who  will  endeavour  to 
give  a  wrong  turn  to  the  business."  Writings  of  James  Madison  (Rives),  II.  2. 

1  Fauchet's  instructions  were  dated  November  15,  1793,  and  he  was  received 
February  22,  1794.  His  despatches  are  in  Correspondence  of  the  French  Ministers 
(Turner). 


1794]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  181 

upon  my  mind  a  continual  anxiety  which  unfits  me  for  any 
thing  else.  This  will  be  my  excuse  for  having  so  long  neg 
lected  to  write  you. 

Since  the  contest  between  Americanus  and  Barneveld,  the 
reputed  author  of  the  former  has  treated  me  with  an  un 
usual  degree  of  civility.  He  has  even  in  one  or  two  causes 
of  considerable  consequence  advised  his  clients  to  engage 
me.  I  know  the  man,  and  shall  have  as  little  dependance 
upon  his  kindness  as  I  have  fear  of  his  resentment.  I  know 
he  will  never  injure  me  while  I  keep  myself  out  of  the  reach 
of  his  malice.  .  .  . 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  March  24,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

.  .  .  The  depredations  committed  upon  the  commerce  of 
thrs  country  have  considerably  distressed  and  still  more 
alarmed  our  merchants,  and  if  the  principle  upon  which  the 
British  have  lately  proceeded  to  seize  our  ships  be  persisted 
in,  I  fear  we  shall  have  no  alternative  but  war;  indeed  it  is 
of  itself  a  state  of  war  to  have  everything  that  passes  under 
the  denomination  of  supplies  liable  to  capture.1 

1  On  November  6,  1793,  "additional  instructions"  were  issued  to  all  British 
ships  of  war  and  privateers  with  letters  of  marque  against  France,  to  take  all  ships 
"laden  with  goods  the  produce  of  any  colony  belonging  to  France,  or  carrying 
provisions  or  other  supplies  for  the  use  of  any  such  colony,"  and  bring  ships  and 
cargoes  to  legal  adjudication  in  British  courts  of  admiralty.  The  English  minister 
(Grenville)  afterwards  explained  that  the  order  was  of  a  temporary  character,  to 
prevent  abuses  that  might  take  place  in  consequence  of  the  whole  Santo  Domingo 
fleet  having  gone  to  the  United  States,  and  because  of  an  intended  attack  upon  the 
Frencli  West  Indie  islands  by  a  British  fleet.  American  State  Papers,  Foreign 
Relations,  I.  430. 

"The  merchants,  particularly  of  New  England,  have  had  a  terrible  slam  in  the 
West  Indies.  About  a  hundred  vessels  have  been  seized  by  the  British  for  con 
demnation  on  the  pretext  of  enforcing  the  laws  of  the  monarchy  with  regard  to 


1 82  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i794 

The  aversion  of  our  people  to  war  is  however  constantly 
strengthening,  and  has  of  late  upon  several  occasions  ap 
peared  in  a  very  decided  manner.  The  event  of  our  town 
meeting  exhibited  very  forcibly  the  public  sentiment  here ; 
a  still  later  occasion  has  shown  the  prevalence  of  the  same 
sentiments. 

An  attempt  was  last  week  made  to  celebrate  the  late  suc 
cesses  of  the  French  by  a  second  civic  festival.  It  was  set 
on  foot  by  the  Jacobin-antifederal  faction,  and  they  ap 
pointed  a  Committee  who  applied  to  the  Lieutenant  Gov 
ernor  to  order  out  the  military  and  to  make  a  display  in  be 
half  of  the  Commonwealth.  He  at  first  complied  with  their 
request,  ordered  out  an  artillery  company,  and  directed  that 
they  should  be  supplied  with  one  hundred  cartridges  at  the 
expense  of  the  State,  that  is,  from  the  public  magazines  ; l  but 
what  with  squibs  upon  the  subject  in  the  newspapers,  and 
with  serious  expostulations  from  some  respectable  gentle 
men  who  got  intimidated,  one  despicable  passion  rescued 
him  from  the  disgrace  which  another  was  bringing  upon 
him,  and  he  countermanded  his  orders.  The  civic  "festival 
is  postponed  and  we  shall  hear  no  more  of  it  until  some  new 
accident  shall  give  another  clue  to  those  who  set  it  on  foot.2 

the  colony  trade.  The  partisans  of  England,  considering  a  war  as  now  probable, 
are  endeavoring  to  take  the  lead  in  defensive  preparations,  and  to  acquire  merit 
with  the  people  by  anticipating  their  wishes."  Madison  to  Jefferson,  March  12, 
1794.  Writings  of  James  Madison  (Rives),  II.  6.  A  proposal  for  an  embargo 
was  at  first  negatived,  chiefly  by  northern  votes ;  but  in  the  face  of  further  losses 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  the  clamors  of  the  eastern  shipowners  it  passed  the  House 
by  a  large  majority,  March  25,  and  became  a  law. 

1  "A  feast  is  to  be  had  in  this  town  to  celebrate  the  victories  of  the  French.     The 
Lt.  Governor  [Samuel  Adams],  we  hear,  has  ordered   that  the  collation  shall   be 
served  in  the  Senate  chamber;  and  that  a  military  corps  shall  parade  in  honor 
of   the  day."     Gore  to  King,  March    19,  1794.     Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus 
King,  I.  555. 

2  See  Independent  Chronicle,  March  20  and  24. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  183 

The  old  gentleman  has  hurt  himself  by  this  improper  com 
pliance  with  an  insolent  request.  The  general  opinion 
seems  to  be  that  there  will  be  no  choice  of  a  governor  by 
the  people  at  our  ensuing  election.  It  is  my  opinion  how 
ever  that  Mr.  Adams  will  be  chosen.  He  may  do  less  harm 
than  some  others,  but  he  will  certainly  never  do  any  good. 
Stat  magni  nominis  umbra.  His  present  impotence  leans 
for  support  on  his  former  services,  and  the  office  will  be 
given  him  as  a  reward,  not  as  an  employment.  I  am,  etc.1 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  April  12,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  received  this  morning  your  favor  of  the  3d  instant.  We 
still  hold  tolerably  firm  to  the  text  of  neutrality,  though  we 
have  our  partialities  for  the  French,  and  are  much  irritated 
against  the  British.  This  is  natural  enough,  and  indeed, 
although  we  have  some  grounds  of  complaint  against  both 
with  respect  to  their  treatment  of  our  commerce  in  their 
present  contest,  yet  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  general 
disposition  of  the  French  ruling  powers  has  been  constantly 
favorable  to  us,  and  that  the  British  government,  acrimoni 
ous,  jealous  and  under  the  guise  of  fair  pretensions,  deeply 
malignant.  The  new  instructions  of  the  8th  of  January 
have  an  appearance  less  hostile  than  those  under  which 
most  of  our  vessels  in  the  West  Indies  have  been  condemned, 

1  "At  the  second  Town  meeting  I  am  informed  you  came  forward  and  acquired 
much  honor,  as  the  business  eventually  redounded  to  the  honor  of  the  town  of 
Boston.  I  was  pleased  that  you  had  signalized  yourself.  I  see  very  plainly 
whither  your  bark  is  tending.  In  vain  you  may  cry,  Quo  me  rapit  tempestas  !  it  must 
be  so.  You  must  be  your  father's  own  son,  notwithstanding  the  rocks  he  has 
pointed  out  to  you."  Charles  Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  New  York,  April  10, 
1794-  Ms. 


184  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

and  if  we  can  labor  through  another  summer  without  a  war, 
I  hope  the  affairs  of  Europe  will  assume  a  milder  aspect.1 
The  unprecedented  exertions  which  have  convulsed  that 
quarter  of  the  globe  are  surely  too  violent  for  duration. 
The  combined  powers  have  made  so  little  impression  upon 
France,  and  have  already  suffered  so  severely,  that  I  think 
they  cannot  hold  out  much  longer.  They  must,  I  think, 
patch  up  a  peace  upon  such  terms  as  they  can  ;  but  how  they 
can  exist  under  their  present  governments,  or  any  other, 
with  a  nation  of  fanatical  atheists,  all  warriors,  in  the  midst 
of  them,  is  indeed  a  problem  which  nothing  but  time  can 
solve. 

Our  election  of  Governor  took  place  last  Monday.  The 
numerous  candidates  of  whom  everybody  talked,  and  for 
whom  nobody  intended  to  vote,  had  silently  sunk  into  ob 
livion,  and  Judge  Gushing  alone  remained  to  be  opposed  to 
the  claimant  by  succession.11  In  this  town  uncommon  pains 

1This  order  will  be  found  in  American  State  Papers,  Foreign  Relations,  I.  431. 
Lord  Grenville  explained  to  Pinckney  that  the  new  order  was  issued  to  show  the 
sincere  desire  of  the  administration  to  maintain  the  best  understanding  and  har 
mony  with  the  United  States,  and  to  remove  the  pretext  "  from  evil  disposed  per 
sons"  in  the  United  States  who  were  endeavoring  to  irritate  the  people  against 
Great  Britain  and  opposing  the  measures  of  their  government. 

"The  later  accounts  from  the  West  Indies  since  the  new  instruction  of  January 
8  are  rather  favorable  to  the  merchants,  and  alleviate  their  resentments ;  so  that 
Great  Britain  seems  to  have  derived  from  the  excess  of  her  aggressions  a  title  to 
commit  them  in  a  less  degree  with  impunity."  Madison  to  Jefferson,  April  28, 
1794.  Writings  of  James  Madison  (Rives),  II.  10. 

The  serious  situation  in  the  relations  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  gave  occasion  to  a  special  mission  to  England,  John  Jay  being  named  as 
the  special  envoy.  Washington  had  considered  John  Adams  for  the  place,  but 
Robert  Morris  objected,  for  a  reason  not  stated.  See  King's  memoranda  on  the 
origin  of  this  mission  in  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  517- 

2  Gore  had  written  to  King  in  December:  "The  federalists  talk  of  running  Judge 
Gushing  for  governor,  and  there  is  some  probability  that  he  may  be  elected.  Such 
an  event  is  very  desirable.  It  would  make  Massachusetts  completely  federalist." 
Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  I.  511. 


i794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  185 

were  taken  by  both  parties.  There  were  500  votes  more 
than  have  ever  been  given  upon  any  former  election.  Mr. 
Adams  had  1400,  and  Judge  Gushing  900.  Our  federalists 
droop  the  head  and  think  all  is  lost.  They  know  not  so 
much  of  the  human  heart,  or  of  the  American  character  as 
you  do.  You  told  me  what  the  event  of  the  election  would 
be  last  October,  and  I  then  thought  your  "oracle  plus  sur  que 
celui  de  Chalcas."  A  friend  of  mine  who  lives  in  the  coun 
try,  by  the  name  of  Townsend,1  a  sensible  man  and  a  warm 
Federalist,  has  repeatedly  told  me  previous  to  the  election, 
that  he  did  not  think  the  prophet  would  even  have  votes 
enough  to  make  him  a  candidate  for  the  election.  Why  ? 
Because  he  is  superannuated  and  antifederal.  I  have  so 
often  told  him  that  I  believed  the  choice  of  the  people 
would  be  for  this  doting  antifederalist.  Since  the  election 
he  writes  me  "I  give  you  joy  of  the  prospect  of  your  old 
friend's  being  elected  Governor.  The  votes  went  very 
different  from  what  I  expected.  I  was  not  sufficiently  ac 
quainted  with  the  moral  habits  of  the  people.  The  main  argu 
ment  of  his  being  a  scapegoat  of  seventy-five  had  more 
weight  than  I  had  expected."  There  will  probably  be  no 
choice  of  Lieutenant  Governor  by  the  people.  Mr.  Adams's 
partisans  in  this  town  voted  for  Mr.  Gill.  He  will  probably 
be  the  highest  candidate. 

My  business  I  can  hope  will  increase.  But  as  it  is  I 
have  no  disposition  to  complain.  It  gives  me  bread  and 
I  find  myself  so  well  satisfied  with  that,  that  my  greatest  ap 
prehension  is  of  growing  indolent  and  listless.  It  is  hardly 
possible  to  obtain  a  conquest  over  the  ambitious  principle 
without  subduing  in  some  measure  that  of  an  honorable 
activity.  You  recommend  to  me  to  attend  the  town  meet- 

1  Horatio  Townsend  (1763-1826),  a  fellow-student  with  Adams  in  Judge  Parsons' 
office.  See  Life  in  a  New  England  Town,  30  n. 


1 86  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

ings  and  make  speeches ;  to  meet  with  caucuses  and  join 
political  clubs.  But  I  am  afraid  of  all  these  things.  They 
might  make  me  a  better  politician,  and  give  me  an  earlier 
chance  of  appearing  as  a  public  man ;  but  that  would  throw 
me  completely  in  the  power  of  the  people,  and  all  my  future 
life  would  be  a  life  of  dependence.  I  had  rather  continue 
some  time  longer  in  obscurity,  and  make  some  provision  for 
fortune,  before  I  sally  out  in  quest  of  fame  or  of  public 
honors.  .  .  . 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

BOSTON,  April  22,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  received  last  week  your  favor  containing  the  quotations 
upon  the  subject  of  sequestering  debts.1  I  have  not  Ruther 
ford,  and  know  not  whether  it  is  owned  in  this  town.  But 
I  have  looked  into  Grotius,  who  gives  the  same  opinion  with 
Puffendorf  as  to  the  debt  from  the  Thessalians  to  the  Thebans 
which  Alexander  forgave.  But  their  reasoning  upon  that 
case  seems  founded  principally  but  not  altogether  upon  the 
right  of  conquest,  and  admits  but  of  a  partial  application  to 
the  propositions  of  the  present  time.  There  is  in  Grotius 
something  more  pointed  to  the  state  of  our  question.  He 
says  :  "A  king  has  a  greater  right  in  the  goods  of  his  sub 
jects  for  the  public  advantage  than  the  proprietors  them- 

1  "The  old  debtors  to  British  subjects,  united  with  the  over  zealous  friends  of 
France  and  the  Democratical  Societies  of  our  principal  cities,  are  urging  a  seques 
tration  of  things  in  action  :  and  as  I  know  you  are  not  inattentive  to  any  question 
of  public  law,  I  have  enclosed  you  some  minutes  of  authorities,  and  I  wish  you  to 
look  into  all  others  relative  to  the  subject."  John  Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Philadelphia,  April  5,  1794.  Ms. 

On  March  27  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  introduced  a  resolution  to  seques 
ter  all  debts  due  from  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  British  subjects,  the  proceeds 
to  be  used  to  indemnify  all  who  had  suffered  from  British  violations  of  the  rights 
of  neutrality  and  of  the  Law  of  Nations. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  187 

selves.  And  when  the  exigencies  of  the  state  require  a 
supply,  every  man  is  more  obliged  to  contribute  towards  it 
than  to  satisfy  his  creditors."  Grotius  I.  1.6.  Barbeyrac's 
note  upon  this  passage  is:  "And  consequently  the  sover 
eign  may  discharge  a  debtor  from  the  obligation  of  paying 
either  for  a  certain  time  or  forever,  if  the  public  good  re 
quires  it."  He  gives  an  example  from  the  Roman  history 
after  the  battle  of  Cannae. 

These  observations  however  seem  to  be  confined  to  the 
debts  due  from  one  subject  to  another,  and  the  influence  of 
an  act  done  at  an  epoch  so  calamitous  cannot  be  cited  as  a 
fair  precedent  upon  occasions  when  the  common  laws  and  the 
natural  obligations  of  justice  are  not  superseded  by  extreme 
necessity. 

That  the  sequestration  of  British  debts  must  be  considered 
as  a  direct  act  of  hostility  cannot  I  think  admit  of  a  doubt. 
But  the  instructions  of  the  6th  of  November  were  a  direct 
act  of  hostility  on  their  part.  After  the  recapture  of  Toulon 
they  did,  it  is  true,  pretend  to  explain  them  away  and  re 
pealed  them.  But  in  the  meantime  the  depredations  com 
mitted  upon  our  commerce  by  their  privateers  and  West 
India  judges,  under  color  of  those  orders,  have  been  enor 
mous,  and  such  as  a  free  and  spirited  people  cannot  tolerate. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  the  commercial  part  of  the  commu 
nity  have  been  so  much  exasperated,  or  that  propositions  so 
rash  and  intemperate  have  met  with  so  much  countenance 
in  the  national  counsels. 

There  is  indeed  something  so  fraudulent  in  the  aspect  of 
the  proposals  that  the  measure,  if  adopted,  must  be  very  dis 
graceful  to  the  nation.  It  is  a  dishonorable  resentment 
which  would  afford  a  gratification  to  our  enemies,  because 
it  would  make  us  accessary  to  our  own  infamy,  the  instru 
ments  of  our  own  shame.  It  is  a  rod  which  can  only  tickle 


1 88  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

our  adversaries,  but  which  may  be  turned  into  a  deadly 
scourge  upon  ourselves.  It  is  an  expedient  suggested  by 
our  passion  to  our  weakness,  and  which  nothing  but  our 
real  impotence  can  in  any  degree  extenuate.  Yet  what 
else  can  we  do  ?  If  they  will  assail  us  as  highway  robbers, 
we  must  pilfer  from  them  as  pickpockets.  We  cannot 
fight,  and  therefore  we  must  cheat  them.  This  appears  to 
me  to  be  the  real  state  of  the  argument,  and  all  that  can  be 
said  in  favor  of  the  sequestration. 

Since  writing  the  above  I  received  your  favor  of  the  I2th. 
I  have  read  the  case  to  which  you  refer  in  the  Collectanea 
Juridica,  but  I  do  not  find  that  Magens  is  owned  here.  The 
question  at  that  time  was  in  many  respects  different  from 
ours,  and  the  seizure  of  the  debt,  or  rather  its  detention  by 
the  King  of  Prussia,  less  warrantable  than  a  sequestration 
would  be  as  now  proposed.  His  cause  of  complaint  was  in 
comparably  less  than  ours.  It  does  not  appear  that  any 
violation  of  the  laws  of  nations  had  been  committed.1  Cer 
tainly,  nothing  so  flagrant  as  the  instructions  of  the  6th  of 
November.  All  the  condemnations  had  been  upon  the  real 
grounds  either  of  enemy's  goods  or  contraband  trade.  Then 
the  debt  was  the  King's.  His  faith  had  been  pledged  for 
its  payment.  Circumstances  rendered  it  a  debt  of  peculiar 
and  more  than  ordinary  obligation  upon  him  to  discharge. 
All  these  points  are  dwelt  upon  in  the  report  of  the  King  of 
England's  law  officers,  and  very  few  of  their  arguments  could 
now  be  applied  against  the  measure  on  our  part. 

1  In  1752  the  King  of  Prussia,  as  an  act  of  reprisal,  stopped  the  payment  of  in 
terest  due  by  him  to  English  creditors  on  the  Silesian  loan.  Such  a  measure,  al 
most  unprecedented  in  modern  times,  called  out  a  memorial  from  the  British 
government,  prepared  by  Sir  George  Lee,  Dr.  Paul,  Sir  Dudley  Ryder,  and  Mr. 
Murray,  afterwards  Lord  Mansfield.  It  has  generally  been  commended  by  pub 
licists,  and  was  characterized  by  Vattel  as  "an  excellent  morceau  de  droit  des  gens" 
Collectanea  Juridica,  I.  154. 


i794l  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  189 

I  have  not  met  with  an  instance  of  reprisals  upon  debts 
in  the  course  of  the  present  century.     I  am,  etc. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

DEAR  SIR  :  BOSTON,  May  26th,  1794. 

Mr.  [Ebenezer]  Dorr  obtained  a  passage  in  the  vessel  with 
Mr.  Jay,  and  Mr.  [Edward]  Jones  had  an  opportunity  to  go 
from  Newport,  so  that  they  had  no  occasion  to  make  the 
application  to  Congress  in  behalf  of  which  I  requested  your 
favor.1 

I  drew  another  petition  some  time  since  for  the  manufac 
turers  of  snuff  and  tobacco  in  this  town,  making  representa 
tions  against  the  tax  proposed  upon  those  articles.  I  know 
not  whether  you  have  seen  this  petition,  or  in  what  light  it 
appeared  if  you  did.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  I 
believe  it  was  not  read,  and  the  tax  I  understand  has  passed. 
I  was  somewhat  puzzled  for  reasons  to  suggest  against  it. 

The  session  of  Congress  I  presume  is  approaching  to  a 
close.  The  prospects  of  immediate  war  appear  to  blow  over. 
Whether  we  shall  be  able  to  make  any  terms  of  accommoda 
tion  with  Great  Britain  and  obtain  proper  satisfaction  for 
her  insolence  and  violence,  is  still  very  questionable,  but  it 
is  of  infinite  importance  that  we  should  preserve  peace, 
until  war  shall  become  a  duty. 

It  is  therefore  fortunate  for  the  country  that  the  pas 
sionate  measures  which  have  been  proposed  were  all  defeated. 
That  for  the  suspension  of  intercourse  with  Great  Britain 
was  one  of  the  most  important  of  them.  Your  decision  of 
that  question  probably  gave  the  tone  to  our  affairs  for  one 

1  They  were  merchants  of  Boston  who  desired  to  obtain  leave  to  send  a  small 
vessel  in  ballast  to  some  port  in  Europe  to  secure  their  property.  The  embargo 
prevented  all  communication  with  Europe. 


190  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i794 

season  further.  The  fate  of  this  country  depended  upon 
that  vote.1  I  expected  it  would  have  renewed  the  abusive 
system  which  was  for  some  time  so  rancorously  pursued,  but 
which  for  some  time  past  has  drooped  away.  But  very 
little  has  been  said  upon  the  subject,  and  I  have  not  seen  a 
single  speculation  in  the  prints  upon  it. 

The  cessation  of  the  embargo  is  offensive  to  our  Jacobins, 
who  are  reduced  to  the  argument,  that  either  the  Congress 
were  precipitate  in  laying  it  on,  or  imprudent  in  taking  it 
off.2  I  have  silenced  some  of  them  by  avowing  the  former 
as  my  opinion. 

1  Abraham  Clarke,  of  New  Jersey,  had  introduced  a  resolution,  April  5,  for  sus 
pending  all  commercial  communication  with  Great  Britain.     It  passed  the  House, 
but  was  lost  in  the  Senate  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice-President  —  John  Adams. 

2  See  McMaster,  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  II.  173,  174.     The 
embargo  was  raised  May  25.    "  The  Secretary  of  State  called  upon  me  this  morning 
to  inform  me  by  order  of  the  President,  that  it  was  determined  to  nominate  you  to 
go  to  Holland  as  Resident  Minister.     The  President  desired  to  know  if  I  thought 
you  would  accept.     I  answered  that  I  had  no  authority  from  you,  but  it  was  my 
opinion  that  you  would  accept,  and  that  it  would  be  my  advice  that  you  should. 
.  .  .     Your  knowledge  of  Dutch  and  French,  your  education  in  that  country,  your 
acquaintance  with  my  old  friends  there,  will  give  you  advantages  beyond  many 
others.     It  will  require  all  your  prudence  and  all  your  other  virtues  as  well  as  all 
your  talents.  ...     Be  secret.     Don't  open  your  mouth  to  any  human  being  on 
the  subject  except  your  mother.     Go  and  see  with  how  little  wisdom  this  world 
is  governed."     John  Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  Philadelphia,  May  26,  1794. 
Ms. 

"The  nomination,  which  is  the  result  of  the  President's  own  observations  and 
reflections,  is  as  politic,  as  it  is  unexpected.  It  will  be  a  proof  that  sound  principles 
in  morals  and  government  are  cherished  by  the  executive  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  study,  science  and  literature  are  recommendations  which  will  not  be  over 
looked.  It  will,  or  at  least  it  ought  to  have  in  England  and  Holland  more  effect 
than  any  thing  that  has  been  done,  except  perhaps  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Jay. 
It  is  a  pledge  given  by  the  American  cabinet,  that  they  are  not  enemies  to  a  rational 
form  of  government,  and  that  they  are  not  hurried  away  by  a  wild  enthusiasm  for 
every  unmeaning  cry  of  Liberty,  Republicanism  and  Equality."  Ibid.,  May  29, 
1794.  Ms.  The  nomination  was  laid  before  the  Senate  May  29,  and  confirmed  on 
the  following  day. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  191 

You  have  seen  the  operation  of  democratic  clubs  in  this 
town  by  the  dismission  of  Mr.  Jones  and  the  election  of  Mr. 
Morton  as  representative.1  Morton  has  of  late  been  a 
violent  sans-culotte,  and  faction  covers  at  least  as  great  a 
multitude  of  sins  as  charity. 

The  opposite  party  have  not  so  much  industry  and  have 
not  the  advantage  of  an  organized  system.  Otis  had  about 
200  votes  but  did  not  obtain  his  election.  Jarvis  was  for 
merly  his  warm  political  friend,  and  probably  viewed  him  as 
a  disciple  of  his  own  ;  but  finding  him  intractable  and  rather 
falling  into  the  other  scales,  he  has  forsaken  him,  and  of 
course  carried  off  a  powerful  interest.  Jarvis's  electioneering 
influence  in  this  town  is  very  great.  .  .  . 

COMMISSION  TO  THE   NETHERLANDS1 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America 

To  John  Quincy  Adams.  — Greeting. 

Reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  your  integrity,  pru 
dence  and  ability,  I  have  nominated,  and  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate,  do  appoint  you  the  said  JOHN  QUINCY 
ADAMS  Minister  Resident  for  the  United  States  of  America  with 
their  High  Mightinesses  the  States  General  of  the  United  Nether 
lands,  authorizing  you  hereby  to  do  and  perform  all  such  matters 
and  things  as  to  the  said  place  or  office  doth  appertain,  or  as  may 
be  duly  given  you  in  charge  hereafter,  and  the  said  office  to  hold 
and  exercise  during  the  pleasure  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  for  the  time  being.  IN  TESTIMONY  whereof  I  have  caused  the 
seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  hereunto  affixed.  Given  under  my 
hand  at  the  City  of  Philadelphia  the  thirtieth  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety  four, 

1  Perez  Morton  succeeded  John  Coffin  Jones. 

f  Adams  succeeded  to  William  Short,  at  this  time  at  the  Court  of  Madrid. 


I92  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the 

eighteenth. 

GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

(SEAL)  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  Secretary  of  State. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  10,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  arrived  here  last  evening,  and  this  morning  paid  my 
respects  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  introduced  me  to  the 
President.  I  find  that  it  is  their  wish  that  I  should  be  as 
expeditious  in  my  departure  as  possible.  I  told  the  Secre 
tary  that  the  state  of  my  own  affairs  would  render  my  re 
turn  to  Boston  previous  to  my  departure  extremely  eligible 
to  myself.  He  inquired  whether  it  would  be  indispensable. 
I  replied  that  in  my  present  situation  I  could  view  nothing 
as  indispensable  that  could  relate  to  my  own  affairs,  and  if 
the  public  service  required  it,  I  should  be  prepared  to  go 
from  hence  or  from  New  York.  He  has  allotted  me  about 
ten  days  to  spend  in  his  office  in  obtaining  the  necessary 
information,  and  I  expect  it  will  be  required  of  me  to  proceed 
immediately  after  from  hence  or  from  New  York.  Of  this 
however  I  am  not  yet  certain.  I  shall  write  you  again  as 
soon  as  I  shall  have  any  foundation  for  certainty  upon  the 
subject.  .  .  -1 

1  He  occupied  his  time  in  reading  such  material  bearing  upon  his  mission  as  was 
in  the  Department  of  State,  and  found  opportunity  to  examine  the  six  volumes  of 
his  father's  despatches  to  the  Continental  Congress  while  he  was  their  commissioner 
and  minister  in  Europe.  They  proved,  he  wrote,  "such  a  fund  of  information 
and  of  entertainment  to  me  as  I  have  seldom  met  with  in  the  course  of  my  life.'* 
Finding  that  the  law  allowed  him  a  secretary  of  legation,  he  offered  the  place  to  his 
brother,  Thomas  Boylston  Adams,  who,  after  some  hesitation,  accepted  the  appoint 
ment. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  193 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  27th,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  expected  to  have  been  on  my  way  to  Boston  before  this, 
but  Mr.  Hamilton  is  gone  into  the  country,  and  I  cannot  be 
supplied  with  my  instructions  until  he  returns.  He  has  been 
expected  every  hour  these  four  days,  and  it  is  very  possible 
that  four  days  hence  he  may  still  be  hourly  expected.  In  the 
meanwhile  I  am  here  lolling  away  my  time,  and  sweating 
away  my  person,  with  nothing  to  do  and  waiting  with  as 
much  patience  as  I  have  at  command.  I  am  unable  to  say, 
therefore,  when  I  shall  leave  this  place,  but  hope  it  will  be 
by  the  middle  of  this  week. 

But  I  presume  that  my  instructions  after  all  will  contain 
nothing  very  particular.  The  Secretary  of  State  says  that 
the  mission  is  almost  exclusively  reduced  to  a  pecuniary 
negotiation. 

To  have  nothing  further  to  do  but  to  borrow  money  and 
superintend  the  loans  already  existing,  is  an  employment  to 
which  for  a  certain  time  I  have  no  reluctance  in  submitting. 
It  is  a  situation  in  which  my  services  may  be  of  some  small 
utility  to  my  country,  and  which  may  afford  me  a  valuable 
opportunity  to  improve  my  information  and  talents ;  but 
I  cannot  think  of  it  with  any  satisfaction  as  a  permanency, 
whether  I  consider  it  with  reference  to  the  public  or  to  my 
self. 

As  it  respects  the  public,  it  is  a  situation  of  small  trust 
and  confidence  under  the  present  circumstances.  The 
credit  of  the  United  States  stands  upon  such  ground  that 
very  little  or  none  of  their  future  success  or  failure  will  de 
pend  upon  the  personal  character  or  abilities  of  their  repre 
sentative  there.  And  I  presume  the  executive  government 


I94  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

of  this  country  will  not  think  it  necessary  to  keep  a  Minister 
constantly  resident  at  the  Hague  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
occasionally  borrowing  a  sum  of  money  for  the  public  at 
Amsterdam. 

Should  that  however  be  the  policy  of  the  government,  and 
should  it  be  at  my  option  to  continue  from  year  to  year  in 
this  state  of  nominal  respectability  and  real  insignificance,  it 
is  proper  for  me  to  determine  how  long  I  shall  bear  it.  And 
this  is  a  subject  of  much  reflection  and  much  anxiety  to  my 
mind.1 

I  have  abandoned  the  profession  upon  which  I  have 
hitherto  depended  for  a  future  subsistence.  Abandoned  it 
at  a  time  when  the  tedious  novitiate  of  hope  and  fear  was 
nearly  past ;  when  flattering  and  brightening  prospects 
were  every  day  opening  more  and  more  extensively  to  my 
view ;  when  I  was  at  least  upon  a  footing  of  equal  advantage 
with  any  one  of  my  own  standing  in  the  profession,  and 
advancing  if  not  rapidly  at  least  with  regular  progression 
towards  eminence ;  when  the  reward  of  long  and  painful  ex 
pectation  began  to  unfold  itself  to  my  sight  and  give  me  a 
rational  hope  of  future  possession.  At  this  critical  moment, 
when  all  the  materials  for  a  valuable  reputation  at  the  bar 
were  collected  and  had  just  begun  to  operate  favorably  for  me, 
I  have  stopped  short  in  my  career,  forsaken  the  path  which 
would  have  led  me  to  independence  and  security  in  private 
life,  and  stepped  into  a  totally  different  direction. 

To  that  profession  I  can  never  return  without  losing  many 
of  the  advantages  which  rendered  its  practice  tolerable.  The 

1"Some  principle  I  must  determine  upon  before  I  go;  for  my  commission  is 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  President.  It  is  a  tenancy  at  will,  and  therefore  it  is 
proper  that  I  should  settle  beforehand  the  contingencies  upon  which  my  will  shall 
determine,  upon  the  supposition  that  the  President  should  not  make  such  determina 
tion  on  my  part  unnecessary.  I  wish  to  serve  my  country,  but  not  to  feed  upon 
her  for  nothing."  To  John  Adams,  July  20,  1794.  Ms. 


i794]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  195 

reputation  which  hitherto  I  had  acquired  was  still  very 
much  confined  and  limited ;  it  was  founded  upon  four  years 
of  constant  application  and  attention  to  business.  My 
absence  will  not  only  stop  its  growth,  but  will  carry  me  back 
to  that  obscurity  in  which  I  began.  The  study  of  the  com 
mon  and  statute  law  has  nothing  attractive  to  secure  any 
attention  to  it  unless  some  inducement  of  immediate  interest 
serves  as  a  stimulus.  My  business  and  my  studies  in  the 
character  which  I  am  now  to  assume  have  very  little  affinity 
with  those  of  a  practising  lawyer.  I  shall  probably  have 
but  little  leisure,  and  shall  not  be  disposed  to  devote  it  to 
Kings  Bench  or  Chancery  Reports,  to  Littleton's  Tenures 
or  Coke's  Commentaries.  Yet  these  studies  must  essentially 
be  uninterrupted  to  preserve  the  learning  of  a  lawyer,  and 
two  or  three  years'  intermission  will  have  the  double  effect 
of  disgusting  me  with  them,  and  of  disqualifying  me  from 
the  practise  of  the  law  without  a  redoubled  application  to 
them. 

In  proportion  as  my  own  professional  advancement  will 
be  checked  that  of  my  contemporaries,  and  particularly  of 
those  who  started  from  the  goal  nearly  at  the  same  time 
with  myself,  will  be  promoted.  They  will  continue  to  make 
their  way,  and  will  in  a  few  years  have  reached  the  summit 
of  reputation  and  of  business.  My  juniors  who  are  now 
just  opening  their  offices,  or  are  yet  students,  will  then  have 
reached  the  station  from  which  I  have  departed,  and  thus 
after  having  been  elevated  to  a  public  station  much  beyond 
my  own  wishes  and  expectations,  and  invested  with  a 
character  more  conspicuous  than  those  of  my  fellow  citi 
zens  of  equal  years  and  standing  in  the  world,  in  returning 
to  the  bar  I  shall  descend  as  much  below  the  level  of  my 
ambition  and  pretensions  as  I  have  been  by  my  present 
appointment  raised  above  it. 


196  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

The  profession,  therefore,  can  be  considered  by  me  in  no 
other  light  than  that  of  a  last  resort,  in  case  all  other  re 
sources  should  fail ;  and  yet  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  anything  more  eligible  will  occur  to  me  in  case  I  should 
at  the  end  of  two  or  three  years  be  destitute  of  public  em 
ployment. 

Unpleasant  however  as  this  perspective  is,  I  think  it  in 
finitely  preferable  to  that  of  remaining  in  the  public  service 
to  perform  duties  which  may  be  executed  equally  well  by 
any  other  man,  and  with  the  consciousness  of  holding  a 
public  office  without  confidence,  without  utility,  and  for  no 
other  purpose  than  barely  to  give  me  a  subsistence. 

The  idea  of  being  many  years  absent  from  my  country, 
from  my  family,  my  connections  and  friends,  is  so  painful, 
that  I  feel  a  necessity  for  fixing  upon  some  period  to  which 
I  may  look  forward  with  an  expectation  of  being  restored  to 
them.  The  distance  between  the  two  countries  is  so  great 
and  the  communication  of  course  so  small,  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  for  an  American  to  be  long  in  Europe  without  losing 
in  some  measure  his  national  character.  The  habits,  the 
manners,  and  affections  insensibly  undergo  an  alteration, 
the  common  changes  to  which  society  is  incident  remove 
many  of  the  friends  and  connections  which  he  left  behind 
him,  and  no  others  are  substituted  in  their  stead.  His  own 
propensities  are  so  liable  to  follow  the  course  of  the  stream 
into  which  he  has  been  banished,  that  he  gradually  takes 
an  European  disposition,  becomes  a  stranger  to  his  own 
country,  and,  when  at  length  he  returns,  finds  himself  an 
alien  in  the  midst  of  his  own  fellow  citizens. 

The  attachment  which  I  feel  for  my  native  land  is  not 
merely  a  sentiment  of  the  heart,  it  is  also  a  principle  dictated 
by  my  reason.  Independent  of  my  feelings  and  inclinations, 
I  hold  it  to  be  a  duty  of  the  most  rigid  obligation  to  make  the 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  197 

place  of  my  birth  the  centre  of  all  my  wishes,  and  the  chief 
object  of  all  my  pursuits.  Wherever  my  lot  may  be  cast,  I 
hope  I  shall  always  turn  towards  it  with  as  much  frequency  of 
devotion  and  as  constant  veneration,  as  that  with  which  the 
most  faithful  disciple  of  Mahomet  presents  his  face  towards 
the  tomb  of  his  prophet.  I  cannot  therefore  look  forward 
with  indifference  to  any  situation  that  shall  have  a  tendency 
to  loosen  the  ties  which  connect  me  with  my  country.  I 
cannot  anticipate  without  concern  a  length  of  absence, 
which  may  give  my  inclinations  a  bias  different  from  that  of 
my  duty. 

For  these  reasons  I  am  convinced  of  the  propriety  there 
is  in  marking  out  for  my  own  determination  the  limits  of 
time  for  the  duration  of  my  present  mission.  It  is  very 
possible  that  I  may  have  no  occasion  for  any  such  limitation, 
and  that  my  commission  will  be  superseded  by  the  will  of  the 
President,  as  soon  or  sooner  than  I  shall  desire  ;  but  this  is  an 
event,  which  is  wholly  out  of  my  control,  and  which  there 
fore  cannot  enter  into  my  calculations. 

If  after  three  years  residence  at  the  Hague  I  should  see 
no  particular  object  requiring  my  further  continuance 
there;  if  the  business  of  an  American  Minister  there  should 
continue  to  be  the  mere  agency  of  a  broker,  and  my  office  be 
of  no  benefit  but  to  me,  I  shall  feel  myself  under  an  obliga 
tion  to  return  home  and  resume  my  profession,  or  any  other 
employment  in  private  life  that  shall  afford  me  an  honorable 
support. 

I  have  written  very  freely  to  you,  Sir,  upon  this  subject, 
because  I  wish  to  have  the  sanction  of  your  opinion  and  your 
advice.  The  principle  which  I  have  adopted  has  been  so 
consonant  to  your  own  practice,  and  has  been  in  my  mind  so 
clearly  the  result  of  your  instructions,  that  I  think  it  cannot 
but  meet  with  your  approbation.  Perhaps  the  time  upon 


198  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

which  I  have  fixed  may  not  preserve  so  accurately  the 
medium  as  I  should  wish,  and  if  you  are  of  that  opinion,  I 
must  solicit  you  for  the  result  of  your  reflections  in  writing, 
if  it  be  not  too  inconvenient.  Your  kindness  will  excuse 
the  unceasing  egotism  of  this  letter,  which  could  admit  of 
no  apology,  were  it  not  directed  to  the  indulgence  of  a  parent, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  guidance  of  paternal  wis 
dom.  .  .  . 

INSTRUCTIONS 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  29th,  1794. 
SIR, 

Your  predecessor  and  yourself  are  furnished  with  all  the  docu 
ments  of  form.  To  him  have  been  sent  letters  of  recall ;  to  you 
have  been  delivered  your  commission  and  letters  of  credence  to 
the  Stadtholder  and  States-General.  You  are  also  possessed  of  a 
cypher. 

Although  the  general  history  of  a  country,  and  its  Constitution 
will  necessarily  attract  the  attention  of  a  minister  and  of  the 
government,  from  which  he  goes ;  yet  is  it  not  only  superfluous 
to  recommend  to  you  the  acquisition  of  subjects  already  known 
to  you,  but  we  can  also  dispense  with  any  special  communications 
upon  them.  However,  if  even  concerning  them,  it  should  appear 
that  the  books,  from  which  our  knowledge  of  the  United  Nether 
lands  is  derived,  go  beyond  or  fall  short  of  the  truth,  it  will  be  ex 
pected,  that  these  observations  should  be  noted  to  us.  If,  too,  the 
germ  of  any  important  change  should  be  foreseen,  it  will  be  honor 
able  to  yourself,  and  may  be  advantageous  to  the  United  States 
to  apprize  us  of  it,  as  early  as  possible. 

The  administration  indeed  of  the  Dutch  government  is  not  only 
liable  to  the  fluctuations,  which  the  administration  of  every 
government  undergoes,  from  the  passions  and  views  of  individuals 
at  the  helm  of  affairs ;  but  the  peculiar  situation  of  Holland  in 
relation  to  the  present  European  war  lays  it  open  to  the  chance  of 
sudden  revolutions,  and  very  sudden  and  new  courses  of  policy. 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  199 

These  and  every  other  interesting  occurrences  will  be  marked 
with  care,  and  forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  State.  Among 
other  things,  which  may  be  contemplated,  as  worthy  of  observa 
tion  ;  if  any  symptom  of  increasing  liberty,  of  dissatisfaction 
with  any  of  the  combined  powers,  or  of  an  inclination  to  make 
peace  with  the  French  Republic  should  be  found,  you  will  hasten 
to  us  the  intelligence  of  them. 

It  will  be  at  least  a  matter  of  curiosity  to  understand,  in  what 
light  the  existing  armed  neutrality  between  Sweden  and  Denmark 
is  considered  at  the  Hague,  after  the  part,  which  Holland  took 
in  the  former  system. 

Notwithstanding  we  have  ministers  and  consuls  in  other  parts  of 
Europe;  yet  if  you  should  obtain  any  very  interesting  intelligence 
from  countries  not  lying  within  your  immediate  functions,  it  will 
be  acceptable  to  receive  it,  even  with  the  probability  of  some  in 
accuracy.  The  movements  of  the  northern  French  armies  may 
continue  to  be  in  your  neighborhood,  and  early  opportunities  from 
France  being  cut  off,  we  are  dependent  upon  British  prints  for  the 
first  breaking  of  French  events. 

Our  treaty  with  Holland  l  being  the  basis  of  our  commercial 
intercourse,  you  will  do  well  to  inquire  into  the  operations  of  every 
stipulation;  and  as  it  is  a  great  desideratum  in  our  political  ar 
chives,  that  we  have  no  authentic  tables  of  our  commerce  in 
detail  with  different  nations,  it  will  be  an  essential  service  to 
collect  minute  statements  of  it  with  Holland.  You  understand  too 
well  to  be  in  need  of  an  enumeration,  what  are  the  points  in  which 
foreign  commerce  is  valuable.  To  these  therefore  you  will  partic 
ularly  turn  your  mind  ;  and  if  our  commerce  can  be  relieved  from 
any  burthens,  or  promoted  by  any  exertions  of  the  Executive 
or  Legislature ;  you  will  put  it  in  our  power  by  proper  and  reason 
able  representations.  The  only  thing  which  now  occurs  upon  this 
head  is,  that  our  treaty  is  interpreted  not  to  suffer  American 
Consuls  to  be  introduced  into  the  Dutch  Islands  in  our  vicinity. 
Mr.  Van  Berckel  the  Resident  of  the  United  Netherlands  here,2 

1  That  of  1782,  negotiated  by  John  Adams.  2  Pieter  J.  van  Berckel. 


200  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

has  been  called  upon  to  explain  and  to  rectify  the  wrong ;  but  I  can 
obtain  no  written  answer  to  two  letters,  which  I  have  addressed  to 
him;  the  reason  of  which  I  presume  from  a  conversation  to  be, 
that  he  has  no  authority  to  enter  into  any  adjustment.  You  will 
therefore  let  this  business  be  discussed ;  as  we  entertain  little 
doubt,  that  Consuls  of  the  United  States  ought  to  be  admitted  in 
all  the  Dutch  territories. 

The  employment  of  your  predecessor  has  hitherto  consisted  in 
the  management  of  Loans,  which  belong  to  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment.  That  therefore  is  the  channel,  through  which  you  will 
receive  the  will  of  the  President  in  the  article  of  money. 

But  I  must  intreat  and  urge  you,  to  make  it  your  first  and  un 
remitting  duty,  to  forward  by  all  the  means  in  your  power  the 
loan  opened  for  800,000  dollars  and  destined  to  the  ransom  of 
our  fellow  citizens  in  Algiers,  and  the  effectuating  of  a  peace. 
Our  bankers  in  Amsterdam  have  been  commissioned  for  accom 
plishing  it,  from  the  inevitable  delay  in  your  departure  from  hence. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  however,  will  lead  you  into  those 
measures  which  may  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  the  object. 

Our  Consuls  in  Holland  and  in  the  countries,  convenient  to 
your  residence  are  the  following :  James  Greenleaf,  consul,  and 
Sylvanus  Bourne,  vice  consul,  for  the  port  of  Amsterdam,  John 
Parish,  consul  for  Hamburgh,  and  Arnold  Delius,  consul  for 
Bremen.  They  are  under  general  instructions  to  correspond  with 
you,  and  as  soon  as  arrangements  concerning  consuls  and  vice 
consuls,  which  are  scattered  in  different  instructions  shall  be 
reduced  into  one  body,  a  copy  of  them  shall  be  transmitted  to 
you.  .  .  . 

From  you,  Sir,  I  ask  a  communication  by  every  opportunity. 
The  Executive  having  been  under  some  inconvenience  on  that 
score,  it  is  the  wish  and  instruction  of  the  President,  that  a  memor 
andum  be  daily  taken  of  every  circumstance,  which  may  be 
deemed  proper  for  his  information,  and  a  letter  commenced  and 
continued,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  conclusion  and  sealing,  upon  a 
moment's  warning  of  a  conveyance.  .  .  . 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  201 

•As  you  have  a  right  to  correspond  with  the  ministry  of  the  nation, 
near  which  you  reside,  in  your  own  language,  you  will  not  lose 
this  advantage.  .  .  . 

EOM.  RANDOLPH1 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  October  23,  1794. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

On  the  1 5th  instant  in  the  evening,  twenty-eight  days 
after  our  departure  from  Boston,  we  arrived  in  this  place, 
and  I  now  write  you  from  our  old  station  at  Osborne's 
Hotel,  in  the  Adclphi. 

We  landed  at  Deal2  and  came  up  from  thence  by  land. 
The  dispatches  which  had  been  delivered  to  me  for  Mr.  Jay, 
and  which  were  my  principal  inducement  for  coming  hye, 
were  so  bulky  that  they  could  not  be  contained  in  a  trunk 
which  I  could  bring  with  me  in  the  post  chaise,  and  there 
fore  I  had  the  trunk  that  held  them  lashed  on  before,  so  as  to 
have  it  immediately  under  my  eyes.  It  was  about  seven  in 
the  evening,  and  of  course  quite  dark,  when  we  reached 
London  Bridge.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  the  other  side 
of  it,  I  thought  I  heard  something  fall,  and  instantly  upon 

1  In  a  private  letter,  dated  August  13,  Randolph  wrote  :  "The  further  despatches, 
which  I  wished  to  send  to  you  at  New  York,  must  be  deferred  for  the  next  mail 
to  Boston,  as  it  is  all-important  that  you  should  carry  to  Europe  a  precise  account 
of  the  insurrection  [in  Pennsylvania]."  Ms. 

lie  returned  to  New  York  before  August  12,  and  left  for  Boston  by  the  Rhode 
Island  packet  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th.  Hamilton  gave  him  the  powers  neces 
sary  to  negotiate  a  loan,  and  from  Randolph  he  had  despatches  to  be  delivered  to 
Jay  and  Pinckney.  Nearly  a  month  passed  before  he  could  obtain  a  passage,  and 
on  September  15  he  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  Alfred,  reaching  London  on  the  even 
ing  of  October  15.  It  may  be  noted  that  James  Monroe,  appointed  minister  to 
France  to  succeed  Gouverneur  Morris,  reached  Paris,  August  2,  five  days  after  the 
execution  of  Robespierre.  Adams  had  met  in  New  York,  in  July,  Talleyrand  and 
Beaumetz.  2  See  Adams,  Memoirs,  October  14,  1794. 


202  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

looking  forward  found  the  trunk,  together  with  another 
which  had  been  put  with  it,  were  both  gone.  My  brother 
instantly  alighted  and  fortunately  found  the  trunk  of  papers 
directly  under  the  carriage,  the  other  was  a  few  yards  be 
hind,  under  the  horses'  hoofs  of  another  carriage  which  fol 
lowed  us.  We  secured  both  in  the  chaise  with  us  until  we 
reached  the  house  where  we  stopped,  and  upon  coming  to  a 
light  found  that  the  ropes  and  leather  straps  which  had 
held  the  trunks  had  all  been  cut  away. 

I  was  sufficiently  aware  how  far  the  felonious  ingenuity 
was  carried  on  this  ingenious  town,  and  from  the  moment  of 
my  landing  had  felt  a  great  weight  of  anxiety  on  my  mind 
with  respect  to  my  papers.  I  kept,  therefore,  a  watch  as 
strict  as  possible  over  them,  and  yet  I  cannot  but  attribute 
it  to  an  extraordinary  degree  of  good  fortune  that  in  the 
noise  and  bustle  of  a  London  street  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  I  was  enabled  to  save  the  trunk  which  had  fallen  from 
a  carriage  upon  the  full  drive  over  the  pavements,  and  which 
in  half  a  minute  more  would  have  been  irretrievably  gone. 

After  such  an  accident  I  could  not  possibly  sleep  with 
Mr.  Jay's  dispatches  in  my  possession.  I  therefore  de 
livered  them  to  him  myself  the  same  evening.  I  found  he 
had  been  two  or  three  days  confined  to  his  chamber  by 
rheumatic  complaints,  but  he  has  now  I  think  entirely  re 
covered  from  them. 

He  has  fully  communicated  to  me  the  state  of  his  negotia 
tion  here,  and  has  done  me  the  honor  to  consult  me  with  re 
spect  to  the  treaty  now  in  discussion  between  him  and  the 
Ministry  here.  It  has  been  brought  so  nearly  to  a  termina 
tion  that  I  presume  it  will  within  three  months  be  laid  be 
fore  the  Senate  for  consideration.  The  terms  are  such  as 
will  not  suit  many  people  in  America,  and  yet  the  stipula 
tions  on  our  part  appear  to  me  to  be  no  more  than  honor  and 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  203 

honesty  dictate,  and  the  satisfaction  to  be  made  by  them 
almost  as  much  (setting  aside  the  further  delay  as  to  the 
delivery  of  the  posts,  I  should  say  quite  as  much)  as  we  are 
fairly  entitled  to  require.  The  national  honor  will  be  main 
tained,  the  national  interest  will  suffer  infinitely  less  than  it 
would  by  the  most  successful  war  we  could  wage ;  and  is  it 
in  the  heart  of  an  American  to  derive  an  objection  from  the 
consideration  that  by  this  treaty  the  national  justice  will  be 
fully  complied  with  and  performed  ? 

I  have  not  supposed  myself  competent  to  form  a  proper 
judgment  upon  a  subject  of  this  magnitude  without  longer 
time  and  more  extensive  information  than  I  have  been  able 
to  command.  When  Mr.  Jay,  therefore,  condescended  to 
take  my  opinion,  I  told  him  that  as  to  the  whole  project,  I 
felt  myself  inadequate  to  the  decision  from  my  own  mind, 
and  I  could  but  assent  to  the  idea  in  which  he  and  Mr. 
Pinckney  concurred,  that  it  was  better  than  War.  As  to  the 
several  articles  they  were  freely  canvassed  by  those  two 
gentlemen  for  three  days,  during  which  I  was  present  at 
their  interviews,  and  suggested  such  ideas  as  occurred  to  me 
upon  the  subject.  My  observations  were  made  with  the 
diffidence  which  naturally  arose  from  my  situation,  and  were 
treated  with  all  the  attention  that  I  would  expect  or  desire.1 

Upon  the  first  occasion  on  which,  as  the  servant  of  my 
country,  I  have  been  called  to  think  and  to  speak,  I  am  de 
sirous  to  give  you  a  full  account  of  the  manner  in  which  I 
have  conducted.  Young  as  I  am  and  unused  to  the  station 
in  which  I  am  placed,  my  only  hope  is  that  the  indiscretions 
of  my  novitiate  may  be  few  and  unimportant.  The  con 
fidence  reposed  in  me  by  Mr.  Jay  on  this  occasion  has  been 
flattering  in  the  highest  degree,  and  I  hope  he  will  have  no 
occasion  to  regret  it.  His  kindness  and  civilities  to  my 

1  He  gives  his  views  at  length  in  Mfmoirs,  October  22,  1794. 


204  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

brother  and  me  since  our  arrival,  have  been  fully  correspond 
ent  to  the  friendship  which  has  so  long  subsisted  between 
him  and  you,  and  to  the  benevolence  which  I  have  always 
experienced  from  him.  We  are  also  indebted  to  Mr. 
Pinckney  for  every  possible  attention  and  civility  since  our 
arrival.  He  has  lately  had  the  misfortune  of  losing  his  lady. 

When  I  asked  you  before  I  left  America  what  I  should 
do,  if  upon  my  arrival  in  Europe  I  should  find  no  States  Gen 
eral  and  no  Stadtholder,1  the  circumstance  was  nearer  to  the 
eventual  fact  than  I  expected.  The  successes  of  the  French 
armies  in  every  quarter  have  exceeded  all  the  powers  of 
calculation  ;  they  are  in  full  possession  at  this  moment  of  all 
Flanders  and  Brabant ;  they  are  besieging  Nimeguen  and 
Maestricht  and  it  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  nothing 
remains  but  a  general  inundation  to  keep  them  out  of  Amster 
dam.  Against  this  measure  there  appears  to  be  a  formida 
ble  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  people.  The  patriotic 
party  are  again  emerging  from  the  silence  of  despair,  and 
one  or  two  of  the  Provinces  have  already  declared  for  ne 
gotiating  a  separate  peace. 

At  Amsterdam  a  petition,  said  to  be  signed  by  nine  thou 
sand  persons,  was  lately  presented  to  the  magistrates  in  ses 
sion,  against  the  admission  of  their  allied  troops  into  the 
city  and  against  the  inundation.  Mr.  Van  Staphorst2 
and  Mr.  Visscher  3  were  two  of  the  three  deputies  from  the 
people  who  presented  the  petition.  It  was  delivered  in 
defiance  of  a  law  against  petitions  in  times  of  danger,  and 
I  am  informed  that  Mr.  Van  Staphorst  is  imprisoned  in 
consequence  of  this  procedure.  Troops  of  cavalry  have 
been  introduced  into  the  city  and  parade  the  streets.  Can- 

1  William  V,  who  married  Frederica  Sophia  Wilhelmina  (1747-1820),  niece  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  and  daughter  of  Prince  August  of  Prussia. 

2  Nicholas  van  Staphorst.  3  Charles  Visscher. 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  205 

non  are  placed  at  the  Stadthouse,  and  attended  with  lighted 
matches,  and  the  Stadtholder  has  declared,  that  any  man 
who  shall  discover  the  smallest  sign  of  opposition  to  the 
regular  authority  shall  be  punished  with  instant  death. 

In  this  convulsive  situation  between  the  army  of  an  in 
vading  enemy  and  those  of  allies  equally  terrible,  the  people 
in  the  Province  of  Holland  are  at  this  moment  placed.  The 
crisis  cannot  possibly  be  of  long  duration.  The  Stadt 
holder  has  been  invested  by  the  States  General  with  a  dic 
tatorial  power.  His  measures  probably  will  be  to  receive 
the  army  of  the  Duke  of  York  into  Amsterdam,  and  to  lay 
the  country  under  water.  But  the  decided  inclination  of  a 
great  majority  of  the  people  being  opposed  to  this  step,  it 
becomes  a  question  whether  it  will  be  practicable  and  upon 
the  issue  of  the  question  the  fate  of  the  Netherlands  is  sus 
pended. 

The  King  of  Prussia  negotiates  a  separate  peace ;  Spain 
and  Sardinia  in  all  probability  must  do  the  same;  and  the 
Emperor  is  so  thoroughly  exhausted  that  he  is  almost 
wholly  disabled  from  continuing  the  war  with  any  vigor. 
At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  Britain  and  France,  the 
Rome  and  Carthage  of  modern  times,  will  perhaps  remain 
alone  to  terminate  the  present  contest. 

You  have  long  before  this  heard  of  the  catastrophe  of 
Robespierre  in  France,  and  of  the  pretence  upon  which  he 
suffered.1  Since  that  time  a  party  styling  themselves  the 
Moderates  have  hitherto  maintained  their  ascendency  in 
Paris  and  in  the  Convention.  They  all  join  in  loading  the 
memory  of  Robespierre  with  every  possible  execration,  and 
have  transferred  to  him  the  appellation  of  the  Tyrant,  which 
had  before  been  appropriated  to  the  late  King.  The  horrible 
cruelty  which  has  been  so  destructive  at  Lyons,  in  la  Vendee, 

1  Robespierre  was  beheaded  July  28  (10  Thermidor). 


206  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

and  in  every  part  of  the  Republic ;  the  sinking  of  thousands 
of  boat  loads  in  the  Loire ;  the  shooting  of  thousands  by 
pairs  at  Lyons  and  elsewhere,  the  murdering  of  thousands 
under  the  forms  of  law  by  the  guillotine,  all  is  heaped  upon 
Robespierre,  with  as  much  apparent  detestation  as  every 
friend  to  humanity  has  really  felt  at  these  transactions. 
A  system  of  moderation  has  been  pursued  by  the  present 
ruling  party.  Very  few  have  suffered  by  the  guillotine. 
The  commissioners  in  the  several  Departments  have  con 
ducted  themselves  with  lenity  and  endeavored  to  soothe 
and  conciliate.  Great  numbers  have  been  liberated  from 
prison.  The  Convention  has  ordered  that  those  remaining 
under  arrest  shall  be  immediately  tried  or  discharged ; 
the  disposition  for  mercy  seems  even  extending  to  the 
wretched  emigrants  themselves,  and  though  always  ex- 
cepted  from  the  terms  of  capitulation  granted  to  the  several 
garrisons  taken  by  the  French  troops,  yet  in  one  or  two 
late  instances  they  have  not  been  put  to  immediate  death.1 

But  the  violent  party  are  far  from  being  crushed.  In  the 
Convention  it  still  struggles,  and  by  the  Jacobins  and  most 
of  the  popular  Societies  it  is  still  supported.  A  rupture 
between  the  Convention  and  the  Jacobins  has  widened  so 
much  that  it  must  before  long  come  to  a  crisis.  Such  is 
the  succession  of  anarchical  factions  which  alternately 
bear  sway  in  the  center,  while  at  the  borders  all  the  armies 
of  the  Republic,  with  a  combination  of  order  and  enthu 
siasm,  of  severe  discipline  and  irresistible  impetuosity, 
pass  from  victory  to  victory,  and  have  almost  laid  the  whole 
alliance  of  their  enemies  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the  Con 
vention. 

Britain  however  yet  retains  every  appearance  of  contin- 

1  The  situation  of  parties  after  the  death  of  Robespierre  is  given  in  Cambridge 
Modern  History,  VIII.  378. 


i794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  207 

ued  hostility,  and  although  the  most  determined  parti 
sans  of  the  ministry  venture  to  sigh  openly  for  peace,  yet 
no  man  of  any  description  appears  to  expect  it.  The  war 
to  every  outward  appearance  is  still  popular,  and  the  ad 
ministration  since  the  Duke  of  Portland's  admission  to  it 
is  said  to  be  strong  beyond  all  former  example. 

But  the  reins  of  government  have  been  drawn  so  tight 
here  that  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  they  should  break. 
Thirteen  persons  arc  to  be  tried  for  high  treason  the  next 
week.  You  will  probably  see  in  some  of  the  late  papers 
the  indictment  upon  which  they  have  this  day  (October  25) 
been  arraigned.  The  trials  are  expected  to  take  up  a  month 
and  there  is  much  more  agitation  in  the  public  mind  upon 
the  subject  than  appears.  Loyalty  at  this  moment  is  strong 
and  yet  it  is  in  terror.  Opposition  gnashes  its  teeth,  but 
is  silent  or  joins  in  the  general  cry.  Suspicion,  jealousy 
and  a  want  of  mutual  confidence,  betray  themselves  in  the 
conduct  and  conversation  of  every  one.  These  things  are 
not  heard,  they  are  not  seen,  they  can  only  be  felt.  In  short 
the  present  state  of  society'  in  this  land  of  freedom  has  al 
most  every  mark  of  a  severe  despotism.  But  it  is  certainly 
an  unnatural  state  of  temper  to  this  people  and  it  cannot 
continue  long.  A  gentleman  *  conversing  with  me  yester 
day  upon  the  approaching  trials  said,  ''The  treason  is  vio 
lently  constructive,  but  it  will  do  for  this  time.  I  expect 
the  prisoners  will  be  found  guilty.  Hampden  was  found 
guilty,  so  were  Russell  and  Sidney,  so  was  Sacheverell,  but 
it  was  remembered  afterwards"  I  have  heard  nothing  like 
this  said  by  any  Englishman  (the  gentleman  I  speak  of  is 
an  American),  but  I  have  seen  many  who  I  believe  think 
as  much  or  more. 

1  Edmund  Jennings.  The  conversation  is  given  in  greater  detail  in  Adams, 
Memoirs,  I.  53. 


208  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i794 

As  to  the  war,  excepting  their  naval  successes  they  have 
only  shared  in  the  defeats  of  their  allies,  who  are  now  all 
upon  the  point  of  leaving  them.  France  will  probably 
have  the  terms  of  peace  with  them  all  at  her  own  disposal, 
and  will  then  turn  all  her  attention  towards  the  sea.  At 
this  moment  there  is  said  to  be  a  fleet  of  twenty-seven  ships 
of  the  line  at  sea  from  Brest,  about  100  leagues  west  of  Scilly ; 
ninety  frigates  have  been  built  since  the  beginning  of  this 
year.  They  have  ten  thousand  British  seamen  now  prison 
ers  in  France,  and  they  will  not  exchange  a  man  of  them. 
The  deficiency  of  men  here  for  the  navy  is  of  course  pro 
digious,  and  even  the  fleet  under  Lord  Howe  is  not  half 
manned.  It  is  however  just  gone  to  sea  again,  and  another 
action,  as  terrible  as  that  on  the  first  of  June,1  may  be  fought 
before  the  close  of  the  year. 

But  for  the  future  in  this  war  every  advantage  seems  to 
be  on  the  side  of  France.  Their  numbers  are  inexhaustible, 
and  the  loss  of  ten  thousand  men  has  no  other  effect  than 
that  of  calling  out  myriads  more.  Everything  that  can  be 
the  subject  of  human  possession  belongs  to  the  nation,  and 
this  maxim  is  most  thoroughly  reduced  to  practice.  Of 
every  species  of  property  and  of  human  life  their  prodigality 
exceeds  the  bounds  of  imagination  itself.  They  have  no 
commerce  to  lose.  They  have  a  most  inveterate  animosity 
against  this  nation,  and  above  all  they  have  to  establish 
upon  the  sea  a  reputation  to  bear  a  parallel  with  that  of 
their  armies  upon  the  land. 

On  the  other  hand  the  resources  of  Britain  are  compara 
tively  small.  They  will  not  want  money.  There  does  not 
appear  the  smallest  suspicion  of  a  deficiency  on  that  score, 
and  it  is  everywhere  agreed  that  at  this  moment  the  Minis 
ter  might  command  it  to  any  amount.  But  their  want  of 

1  The  engagement  between  Howe  and  Villaret-Joyeuse. 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  209 

seamen  is  without  a  remedy,  and  must  increase  greatly  even 
by  the  most  brilliant  victories.  Their  commerce  suffers 
severely,  and  the  moment  they  lose  their  naval  superiority 
must  be  annihilated.  Strongly  as  they  are  bent  upon  the 
success  of  the  war,  and  inveterate  as  they  always  are  against 
the  French,  they  have  not  that  enthusiasm  which  in  France 
has  levelled  all  the  boundaries  of  private  property,  and  put 
the  whole  mass  of  physical  force  in  the  nation  into  the 
hands  of  the  government.  They  contend  with  an  enemy 
whom  repeated  defeats  will  not  discourage,  but  who  would 
be  irresistible  after  a  single  victory.  In  short,  Sir,  the  situa 
tion  of  this  country,  external  and  internal,  appears  to  be 
perilous,  and  its  prospects  gloomy  in  the  extreme. 

But  I  have  already  spun  my  letter  to  an  immeasurable 
length,  and  will  ask  for  no  more  of  your  time  now  except 
to  assure  you  that  I  remain,  with  every  sentiment  of  duty 
and  affection,  your  son. 

P.S.  Instead  of  thirteen  persons  to  be  tried  for  high 
treason  I  find  upon  further  inquiry  only  nine;  and  instead 
of  twenty-seven  ships  of  the  line  now  at  sea  from  Brest, 
there  are  but  fourteen.  I  had  this  last  fact  from  an  American 
captain  who  fell  in  with  them. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  3  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  November  2d,  1794. 
SIR  : 

I  left  London  on  the  twenty-eighth  ultimo,  and  arrived 
here  on  the  3ist,  at  night.1 

In  the  course  of  the  present  week  I  expect  to  have  my 

1  He  put  up  at  the  "Keyzer's  Hoff,"  but  on  the  4th  moved  to  the  "Heeren  Loge- 
mcnt." 

P 


210  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

audience  of  the  States.  The  Stadtholder  is  at  Nimeguen, 
or  with  the  army. 

The  outward  aspect  of  this  country  is  not  that  of  a  nation 
invaded  by  a  powerful  and  victorious  army.  From  Hel- 
voetsluys  to  this  place,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  of  our 
miles,  everything  wears  the  appearance  of  peace  and  tran- 
quility. 

At  Amsterdam  everything  is  also  quiet.  Mr.  Van  Stap- 
horst  and  five  others  of  the  deputation  from  the  subscribers 
of  the  petition  against  the  inundations,  etc.,  have  escaped 
and  fled.  Mr.  Visscher  and  four  or  five  more  are  imprisoned 
on  the  same  account.  Three  or  five  thousand  troops  have 
been  introduced  into  the  city,  as  a  check  upon  the  disposi 
tions  of  the  people,  and  for  the  present  the  government 
there  meets  with  no  resistance  or  opposition. 

But  in  the  meantime  the  French  armies  continue  to  ad 
vance,  and  the  allied  armies  to  retreat.  The  Duke  of  York 
after  his  defeat  on  the  I9th  [October]  abandoned  Nimeguen, 
and  retired  to  Arnheim  across  the  Waal  and  the  Rhine. 
Since  then,  however,  the  French  have  been  repulsed  with 
considerable  loss  in  an  attack  before  Nimeguen.  It  is 
confidently  asserted  that  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  immedi 
ately  expected  to  take  the  command  of  the  allied  armies 
and  the  Duke  of  York  is  to  serve  under  him. 

As  to  Maestricht  there  is  a  report  that  it  has  capitulated, 
and  another  that  the  French  have  also  been  defeated  there. 
Venlo  has  certainly  capitulated.1  The  human  force  which 
the  allies  can  at  this  time  oppose  against  the  progress  of  the 
French  troops  is  not  competent  to  answer  the  end,  but  the 
season  is  now  far  advanced,  it  becomes  very  rainy  and  un 
healthy,  so  that  possibly  the  armies  of  both  parties  will  be 
obliged  to  go  into  winter  q darters. 

1  Venlo  capitulated  October  25. 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  211 

The  probability  that  the  French  will  penetrate  to  Amster 
dam  this  season  is,  I  think,  not  quite  so  great  as  it  appeared 
to  be  three  weeks  since.  And  if  there  should  be  a  respite 
of  two  or  three  months  from  the  war,  the  interval  will 
doubtless  be  very  busily  employed  in  negotiation. 

Mr.  Fagel  is  gone  to  London  from  hence  upon  a  mission, 
the  purpose  of  which  is  said  to  be  to  demonstrate  to  the 
British  Ministry  the  absolute  necessity  of  negotiating  a 
peace,  and  to  give  them  notice  that  unless  they  will  join  in  it, 
the  Hollanders  must  attempt  it  separately.1 

On  the  other  hand  Lord  Spencer  and  Mr.  Grenville  have 
returned  from  Vienna,  having  as  is  said  totally  failed  in  the 
object  of  their  mission,  which  was  to  prevail  upon  the  Em 
peror  to  continue  the  war  with  vigor  for  the  recovery  of  his 
own  dominions,  and  to  offer  him  a  subsidy  of  five  millions 
sterling  for  the  purpose.  I  suppose  all  this  to  be  conjectural, 
for  the  object  of  those  negotiations  in  both  instances  is  not 
public.2 

1  Henri  Fagcl  (1765-1838)  followed  William  V  into  exile,  and  after  1783  was  Dutch 
ambassador  to  London.  George  III  looked  upon  Fagel's  mission  as  futile,  as 
evidence  of  the  want  of  energy  on  the  part  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  The  Duke 
of  York  wrote  that  he  was  in  every  instance  thwarted  by  the  people  he  was  trying  to 
save,  and  the  combined  army  complained  of  the  unkindness  they  experienced  from 
the  Dutch  on  all  occasions,  and  the  want  of  preparations  for  defence.  The  English 
government  yielded  to  the  inevitable,  but  advised  Holland  to  make  such  a  peace 
with  France  as  should  secure  the  independence  of  the  Republic  and  its  present 
constitution  and  form  of  government.  Hist.  Jifss.  Com.,  Fortfscuf  .I///.,  II.  644, 
64^>. 

•  Lord  Spencer  and  Thomas  Grenville  had  been  sent  in  July  to  Vienna  to  urge 
Austria  to  greater  efforts  in  furnishing  troops,  to  change  her  general  of  the  army, 
and  to  concert  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  Dutch  frontier;  also  to  ascertain 
what  subsidy  was  needed  to  enable  Austria  to  prosecute  the  war  vigorously  for 
two  campaigns.  The  mission  proved  fruitless,  as  it  was  neutralized  by  the  sending 
of  Count  de  Merci  from  Vienna  to  London  about  the  same  time,  where  he  died 
August  25,  without  accomplishing  any  of  his  objects,  and  Austrian  jealousy  of 
Prussia  could  not  be  overcome.  A  loan  of  six  millions  was  demanded  of  the  English  — 


212  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

What  will  not  admit  of  any  doubt  is,  that  the  allies,  as 
is  usual  among  partners  that  play  a  losing  game,  are  dissatis 
fied  with  one  another ;  nor  is  there  any  present  appearance 
that  their  armies  will  cooperate  with  any  sort  of  cordiality 
the  ensuing  season  in  case  the  war  should  continue. 

Five  of  the  Provinces  here  have  declared  for  negotiating 
a  peace  separately,  the  other  two  no  doubt  will  follow.  But 
what  kind  of  peace  can  they  expect  to  obtain  from  France 
under  the  present  circumstances  ? 

The  Patriotic  party  have  no  centre  of  union ;  they  dare 
have  but  little  communication  together,  and  I  apprehend 
there  is  no  plan  for  their  operations  concerted  by  any  con 
siderable  number  of  them. 

From  the  few  observations  I  have  been  able  to  make 
hitherto  I  imagine  they  have  no  desire  of  peace  at  present. 
Their  animosity  against  the  Stadtholder  and  the  Regencies  l 
is  so  great,  that  they  would  rather  submit  to  the  French  as 
conquerors,  than  make  peace  with  them  as  friends  by  the 
means  of  their  present  government.  The  inveteracy  of  the 
parties  against  each  other  is  even  greater  than  I  expected, 
and  if  a  revolution  of  the  ruling  power  should  take  place, 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  humanity  will  suffer  severely  under 
the  operation. 

The  expectation  of  the  Patriots  is,  that  if  the  French 
should  succeed,  their  private  property  will  be  respected. 
Many  of  them  suppose  no  doubt  that  a  discrimination  will 
be  made  between  them  and  the  adverse  party,  and  as  France 
declared  war  only  against  the  Stadtholder  and  his  adherents, 
the  nation  will  fraternize  with  all  those  who  were  before  that 
time  and  have  continued  to  be  their  implacable  enemies. 

double  what  the  English  ministers  offered.     The  two  envoys  left  Vienna  in  October. 
Grenville's  letters  to  his  brother  are  in  Hist.  Mss.  Com.,  Fortescue  Mss.,  II. 

1  Prussia  and  Great  Britain  had  controlled  the  policy  of  Holland  since  the  revo 
lution  of  1787,  which  reinstated  the  Stadtholder  through  their  agency. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  213 

Private  property  has,  indeed,  hitherto  been  left  untouched 
by  the  French  in  the  places  which  they  have  conquered,  and 
the  only  complaint  of  the  people  who  have  submitted  to  them 
has  been  the  compulsive  circulation  of  assignats  in  payment 
for  whatever  they  purchase.  Should  this  system  be  pur 
sued,  and  the  conquest  of  this  country  be  completed,  a 
total  revolution  of  the  government  and  even  of  the  Con 
stitution  here  seems  to  be  inevitable.  But  whether  the 
Provinces  will  be  annexed  to  the  French  Republic  or  left 
to  form  a  new  government  for  themselves,  to  be  in  alliance 
with  France,  no  person  here  appears  to  have  formed  an 
opinion  whereupon  to  found  a  rational  expectation. 

As  this  event  might  place  me  in  a  very  embarrassing  situa 
tion,  I  am  anxiously  desirous  of  receiving  eventual  instruc 
tions  to  regulate  my  conduct  in  either  of  the  cases  which  have 
got  so  far  within  the  limits  of  probability. 

Should  this  country  become  a  dependence  of  the  French 
Republic,  my  mission  will  of  course  be  terminated  by  the 
extinction  of  the  nation  itself  to  which  I  am  sent.  Should 
it  continue  an  independent  Republic,  but  under  a  different 
form  of  government  and  constitution  from  that  to  which 
I  am  accredited,  my  functions  authorized  by  the  credentials 
and  instructions  which  I  now  bear  would,  of  course,  be  sus 
pended.1  It  is  impossible  to  anticipate  what  species  of  author 
ity  may  rise,  instead  of  that  which  has  hitherto  governed 
this  people.  But  it  will  be  a  great  relief  to  my  own  mind, 
and  possibly  may  be  of  service  to  the  public,  if  I  can  be  pre 
pared  for  either  of  those  events  I  have  mentioned,  by  know 
ing  whether  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  President,  that  I  should 
consider  them  as  a  termination  of  my  Commission,  and 
implying  a  permission  to  me  to  return  home,  or  that  I 

1  Adams  had  consulted  Jay  on  the  conduct  to  pursue  in  Holland,  and  the  con 
versation  is  given  in  Aftmoirs,  October  28,  1794. 


2i4  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

should  remain  here  and  wait  for  his  express  orders,  subse 
quent  to  his  knowledge  of  these  occurrences. 

I  have  not  yet  received  an  answer  from  our  bankers  1 
to  the  letter  which  I  wrote  them  from  London  and  am  there 
fore  still  ignorant  of  the  fate  of  the  loan  for  800,000  dollars 
for  which  they  were  commissioned.  I  shall  write  them  again 
immediately,  and  as  soon  as  I  have  obtained  my  admission 
here  intend  going  to  Amsterdam  myself.  In  the  meantime, 
I  remain  etc. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  4  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  November  5,  1794. 
SIR  : 

Yesterday  I  wrote  a  card  to  Mr.  Van  Hees,  the  agent 
of  their  High  Mightinesses,  requesting  him  to  appoint  a  time 
when  it  would  be  convenient  to  him  to  receive  a  visit  from 
me,  and  giving  him  notice  of  the  commission  and  credentials 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  bear.  He  appointed  an  hour  this 
morning,  when  I  called  accordingly,  and  desired  him  to  in 
form  me  what  measures  I  must  take  in  order  to  obtain  my 
reception.  He  told  me  the  customary  course  was  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  weekly  president  of  their  High  Mightinesses, 
and  deliver  my  credentials  to  him,  who  would  on  the  same 
day  communicate  them  to  the  States  General,  and  they 

1  Willinks,  Van  Staphorst,  and  Hubbard.  March  20,  1794,  Congress,  in  making 
an  appropriation  of  a  million  dollars  for  the  expenses  attending  the  intercourse 
of  the  United  States  with  foreign  nations,  authorized  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
to  borrow  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  sum.  In  July  Hamilton  authorized  this 
Amsterdam  firm  to  negotiate  in  any  part  of  Europe  a  loan  for  $800,000,  that 
amount  being  deemed  urgent  and  necessary  should  a  certain  contingency  arise. 
Adams  found  that  the  credit  of  the  United  States  stood  higher  than  that  of  other 
powers.  In  December,  1794,  the  four  per  cents  were  quoted  at  ten  above  par,  and 
the  five's  at  par. 


1794)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  215 

would  pass  a  resolution  to  acknowledge  me  in  the  character 
with  which  I  am  vested.  "But  (added  he)  I  must  observe 
to  you,  Sir,  that  Mr.  Short  has  not  yet  taken  leave  of  their 
High  Mightinesses."  I  told  him  that  when  Mr.  Short  went 
to  Madrid  it  was  under  the  expectation  of  returning  here, 
but  that  the  United  States  having  further  occasion  for  his 
services  in  Spain,  the  President  had  now  appointed  him  to 
reside  there ;  that  I  had  been  the  bearer  of  his  letters  of  re 
call  to  their  High  Mightinesses,  and  had  already  sent  them 
to  him,  as  it  was  judged  by  the  American  government  most 
consistent  with  propriety  that  they  should  be  transmitted 
to  the  States  General  by  himself.  The  Agent  acquiesced 
in  this  idea,  and  said  he  believed  there  were  some  prece 
dents  conformable  to  this  mode  of  procedure.  That  I  might 
therefore  be  immediately  admitted  and  deliver  Mr.  Short's 
letters  of  recall,  when  I  should  receive  them  from  him. 

He  said  it  was  also  customary,  immediately  after  deliver 
ing  the  credentials  to  the  weekly  president,  to  leave  a  copy  of 
them  with  the  Greffier ;  but  as  he  was  now  absent,  the  com 
munication  might  be  made  to  the  Commis  or  clerk  of  their 
High  Mightinesses.  And  after  the  acknowledgment  it 
would  be  proper  to  give  notice  of  it  to  the  diplomatic  char 
acters  here  by  visiting  cards. 

November  6.  This  morning  I  waited  on  Mr.  Van  ImhofT, 
the  President  for  the  week,  and  delivered  to  him  my  creden 
tials,  which  he  said  he  should  not  fail  to  communicate  to 
their  High  Mightinesses  this  forenoon.  I  then  went  to  see 
Mr.  Lelyvelt,  the  Commis  of  the  States,  and  left  the  copy 
with  him,  the  Greffier,  Mr.  Fagel,  being  absent.  He  told 
me  that  the  resolution  for  my  acknowledgment  would  not 
be  passed  till  tomorrow,  or  the  day  after.  That  their  High 
Mightinesses  received  communications  only  in  three  lan 
guages,  viz.  the  Dutch,  the  French  and  the  Latin.  That 


216  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

as  my  credentials  are  in  English,  they  must  undergo  a  trans 
lation  before  they  can  be  read  in  the  Assembly,  which  would 
occasion  this  delay  of  a  day  or  two. 

November  8.  Mr.  Van  Hees,  the  Agent,  called  and  in 
formed  me  that  the  President  of  the  week  having  communi 
cated  to  their  High  Mightinesses  the  letter  of  credence  from 
the  United  States,  which  I  had  delivered  to  him,  they  had 
passed  a  resolution,  the  purport  of  which  he  repeated,  but 
so  rapidly  and  in  so  low  a  voice  that  I  could  not  particularly 
understand  it.  He  said  the  Resolution  was  not  yet  reduced 
to  writing,  but  as  soon  as  it  should  be,  he  would  send  it  to 
me.  The  amount  of  it  is  to  acknowledge  me  in  the  character 
conferred  on  me  by  the  President,  and  the  proceeding  is  no 
doubt  according  to  the  usual  forms.1 

November  10.  I  received  from  the  Agent  of  their  High 
Mightinesses  the  resolution  relative  to  my  reception,  a  copy 
and  translation  of  which  I  inclose  herewith. 

November  n.  You  will  observe  by  the  Resolution  of 
their  High  Mightinesses  that  an  audience,  either  in  the 
Assembly  of  the  States  or  by  Commissioners  to  be  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  is  left  at  my  election.  I  called  this  morn 
ing  upon  the  Agent  Van  Hees  to  inquire,  which  of  these 
alternatives  had  been  chosen  by  my  predecessor.  He 
assured  me  that  they  were  both  mere  formalities  which  were 
always  dispensed  with,  except  on  particular  and  extraordi 
nary  occasions,  and  had  been  so  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Short. 
That  by  the  transmission  of  this  resolution  my  reception 
and  acknowledgment  were  completed,  and  if  I  had  any 
communication  to  make  for  the  future,  the  person  with 

xThe  second  paragraph  of  this  resolution  reads:  "Whereupon,  after  delibera 
tion  it  was  found  good  and  understood  hereby  to  declare,  that  the  said  Mr.  John 
Quincy  Adams  is  agreeable  (aangenaam)  to  their  High  Mightinesses,  and  that  he 
shall  be  acknowledged  in  the  aforesaid  quality  of  minister,"  etc. 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  217 

whom  my  official  correspondence  is  to  be  maintained  is  the 
Greffier,  and  if  I  should  have  memorials  to  present,  they  are 
to  be  delivered  to  the  weekly  President. 

I  am  fearful,  Sir,  that  this  minute  detail  of  forms  may 
appear  tedious  and  perhaps  trivial.  But  in  these  countries 
they  are  so  much  in  the  habit  of  annexing  importance  to  ac 
curacy  in  these  particulars,  and  I  have  felt  so  much  the  want 
of  information  as  to  the  mode  of  proceeding  in  this  respect, 
that  I  thought  it  might  at  least  save  trouble  upon  some  future 
occasion  to  have  the  regular  process  of  reception  trans 
mitted  to  the  Department  over  which  you  preside.  I  hope 
this  consideration  will  apologize  for  the  intrusion  of  a  letter 
so  very  uninteresting  as  the  present  upon  your  perusal.1 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  with  sentiments  of  the  highest 
respect,  Sir,  your  humble  and  obedient  servant. 

1  To  Short  he  wrote,  November  21,  1794:  "I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  neces 
sary  information  even  upon  the  subject  of  formalities.  I  have  been  obliged,  there 
fore,  to  grope  in  the  dark  as  well  as  I  could,  and  depend  altogether  upon  the  in 
formation  of  the  Agent  of  the  States.  The  diplomatic  visits,  he  told  me,  were 
usually  rendered  by  cards,  so  that  I  have  not  yet  been  made  acquainted  even  with 
the  members  of  that  corps.  The  Prince's  secretary  is  incapacitcd  by  old  age, 
performs  none  of  his  functions,  and  I  was  necessitated  to  be  my  own  introductor, 
to  deliver  my  credentials  to  his  Highness.  Nothing  so  despicable,  and  nothing 
so  indispensable  as  the  science  of  forms."  Three  weeks  later  he  was  called  upon 
to  determine  a  question  of  form.  I lis  instructions  contained  the  following  clause: 
"As  you  have  a  right  to  correspond  with  the  ministry  of  the  nation  near  which  you 
reside  in  your  own  language,  you  will  not  lose  this  advantage."  Having  occasion 
to  present  a  memorial  and  a  request  to  the  High  Mightinesses,  he  prepared  them  in 
English  and  delivered  them  in  person  to  the  President  of  that  body.  That  officer 
in  receiving  them  noted  the  fact  that  English  was  used,  but  said  he  would  lay  them 
before  the  States  General.  But  Lelyvcld  attempted  to  return  them  to  Adams  on 
the  ground  that  they  violated  a  rule  constantly  observed  by  all  the  foreign  ministers. 
Adams  at  first  refused  to  receive  them,  asserting  that  they  had  already  been  ac 
cepted  by  the  President,  and  that  he  could  not  use  another  language  without 
authority  from  his  superiors,  from  whom  he  had  received  his  instructions.  Lely- 
veld  insisting,  the  matter  was  settled  by  his  taking  the  position  that  the  papers 
had  never  been  offered,  and  Adams,  to  secure  justice  and  avoid  unnecessary  dis- 


2i 8  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  5  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  November  7,  1794. 
SIR: 

By  a  letter,  which  I  received  since  I  wrote  you  last,  I 
am  informed  that  the  bankers  of  the  United  States  have 
done  nothing  as  Commissioners  for  the  loan  of  800,000  dol 
lars,  not  having  received  from  Colonel  Humphreys  the  notice 
which  they  were  instructed  to  wait  for  previous  to  their  act 
ing  under  this  commission.  They  add,  that  under  the  present 
circumstances  the  loan  would  be  altogether  impracticable, 
and  they  cannot  foresee  when  it  will  again  be  feasible.  Of 
all  this  they  have  no  doubt  given  information  to  you,  and 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

In  my  letter  of  the  2nd  instant  I  have  mentioned  the 
mutual  dissatisfaction  which  has  for  some  time  prevailed 
among  the  allied  powers,  and  I  have  before  noticed  the  re 
ports  of  a  separate  peace  made  by  the  King  of  Prussia. 
This  fact  seems  at  present  to  be  put  beyond  a  doubt,  as  the 
name  of  the  minister  who  signed  the  Treaty  on  the  part  of 
Prussia  appears  in  the  papers  of  this  day. 

cussion,  turned  them  into  French.  Randolph  wrote  to  Adams,  February  25,  1795  : 
"You  have  judged  right  in  supposing  that  the  President  could  not  be  so  tenacious 
of  the  advantage  of  corresponding  in  your  own  tongue,  as  to  violate  established 
forms.  Certainly  the  supreme  authority  of  a  country  must  be  submitted  to  in 
things  of  this  kind.  Nor  is  it  expected,  that  you  should  persist  in  the  right  of  using 
your  own  language  even  with  the  ministers,  if  it  is  likely  to  be  unacceptable.  The 
French  minister  here  corresponds  in  French,  the  Spanish  minister  in  Spanish,  the 
Portuguese  minister  has  been  left  at  liberty  to  use  the  Portuguese,  but  practises 
the  French,  and  the  Dutch  minister  writes  in  French.  The  instruction  to  use 
your  own  was  founded  on  caution;  but  was  never  considered  as  indispensable." 
The  rule  governing  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  the  United  States  is  to  employ 
the  English  language  in  formal  written  communications  to  the  governments  to 
which  they  are  accredited.  See  Adams,  Memoirs,  IV.  327. 


i794]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  219 

Spain  has  also  sent  a  minister  to  Paris  to  negotiate  a 
peace,  and  two  ministers  on  the  part  of  the  Empire  are 
employed  for  the  same  purpose,  one  in  Switzerland,  and  the 
other  is  said  to  be  now  at  Paris.  It  seems  to  be  an  opinion 
prevalent  here,  as  well  as  in  England,  which  I  mentioned 
in  my  first  letter  from  thence,  that  the  French  Republic 
will  be  disposed  to  grant  moderate  terms  to  all  the  allies 
except  Great  Britain,  and  as  the  system  of  moderation  ap 
pears  to  be  obtaining  increasing  ascendancy  in  the  National 
Convention  and  throughout  the  Republic,  the  probability 
that  England  and  France  will  be  alone  engaged  at  the  open 
ing  of  the  ensuing  campaign  daily  strengthens. 

As  to  this  country,  it  is  well  known  to  you,  Sir,  how  close 
a  political  connection  has  been  maintained  between  its 
government  and  that  of  Great  Britain  since  the  Revolution 
here  in  the  year  1787.  But  a  connection  still  closer  has 
subsisted  with  Prussia,  which  is  cemented  by  the  ties  of 
blood  between  the  consorts  of  the  Stadtholdcr  and  of  the 
hereditary  Prince  of  Orange,1  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  the 
former  being  his  sister  and  the  latter  his  daughter.  Hitherto 
the  British  and  Prussian  influence  here  has  been  exerted  in 
perfect  union,  but  after  this  peace  made  by  Prussia  I  think 
it  it  impossible  they  should  long  continue  to  harmonize. 

The  Court  of  St.  James  will  no  doubt  be  very  much  dis 
satisfied  with  that  of  Berlin,  for  making  this  peace,  and  a 
coolness  between  them  must  I  think  ensue.  The  Prussian 
influence  here  must  be  favorable  to  peace  between  this 
Republic  and  France,  to  which  Great  Britain  cannot  cer 
tainly  consent. 

But  in  the  present  situation  of  things  in  this  country, 
peace  has  become  an  object  of  urgent  necessity  to  the  govern 
ing  power  here.  They  imagine  and  perhaps  not  without 

1  The  wife  of  the  Hereditary  Prince  was  Frederick-Louisa-Wilhelmina,  of  Prussia. 


220  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

foundation,  that  their  existence  depends  upon  their  obtain 
ing  it.  And  for  the  very  same  reason  the  Patriots  do  not 
appear  desirous  for  peace  at  all.  They  had  rather  submit 
to  an  external  enemy  than  bear  a  yoke,  in  their  minds  more 
intolerable,  of  what  they  call  internal  oppression.  I  do  not 
give  this  sentiment  as  that  of  the  whole  Patriotic  party, 
who  are  far,  very  far  from  being  united  in  their  own  politics. 
I  cannot  even  pretend  to  say  how  extensive  this  temper  may 
be,  but  from  my  observations  hitherto,  I  cannot  doubt  but 
that  numbers  here  would  rather  see  the  conquest  of  their 
country  completed  by  the  French,  than  a  peace  made  by 
them  with  the  government  now  established  here. 

If  therefore  the  French  Republic  will  consent  to  terms  of 
accommodation  with  the  Stadtholder  and  the  States  Gen 
eral,  upon  condition  that  they  shall  abandon  their  alli 
ance  with  Great  Britain,  the  personal  interest  of  the  House 
of  Orange  and  of  the  members  of  the  States  will  dictate  to 
them  an  acquiescence  in  the  measure.  The  continuance 
of  the  war  threatens  immediate  and  total  destruction  to 
them,  and  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  their  ally,  now  they 
are  abandoned  by  Prussia,  and  are  like  to  be  deserted 
by  the  Empire,  to  defend  them.  Example  is  epidemical 
among  nations,  no  less  than  among  individuals,  and  in 
this  instance  the  court  of  Berlin  will  think  itself  justified 
by  the  imitation,  and  that  of  the  Hague  deem  itself  author 
ized  by  the  precedent. 

The  mission  of  Mr.  Fagel  to  London  is  supposed  to  be 
upon  this  subject.  But  if  his  object  is  to  agree  upon  a 
joint  negotiation,  there  does  not  appear  any  possibility 
that  this  proposal  will  produce  any  effect. 
i  The  present  British  Ministry  cannot  with  any  consistency 
negotiate,  and  there  is  no  present  prospect  of  a  change  in 
the  Administration.  If  this  difficulty  should  be  removed, 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  221 

another  more  insurmountable  would  occur,  if  the  general 
opinion  be  well  founded,  that  the  Convention  will  not  ne 
gotiate  upon  any  terms  with  Great  Britain.  Whether  this 
disposition,  if  it  really  exists,  will  continue  for  any  length  of 
time,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  is  founded  upon  the  extreme 
animosity  against  the  British,  which  prevails  at  this  time  in 
France.  But  the  public  sentiment  is  in  its  own  nature  very 
fluctuating.  National  passions  subside  when  the  objects 
which  excited  them  are  removed.  The  character  of  the 
French  people,  however  susceptible  of  ardent  resentment, 
is  far  from  being  implacable,  and  the  transition  in  the  public 
mind  from  the  most  virulent  hatred  to  indifference,  and 
even  to  good  will,  often  takes  place  with  surprising  rapidity. 
A  peace,  therefore,  even  between  these  two  mighty  rivals 
before  the  opening  of  the  spring,  may  possibly  take  place, 
but  cannot  be  rationally  expected  in  the  present  state  of 
things. 

If  then  the  perseverance  of  Britain,  or  the  resentment  of 
France,  should  effectually  preclude  a  general  pacification, 
will  the  government  of  this  country  negotiate  a  separate 
peace  ?  In  answer  to  this  question  I  can  only  say  that  their 
external  enemies  are  victorious,  and  if  the  war  continues 
will  in  every  probability  be  irresistible  :  that  their  internal 
disunion  gives  a  strong  hold  to  their  invaders,  even  in  the 
heart  of  their  country;  and  that  the  question  remaining 
for  them  is  between  an  unpleasant  peace  and  total  ruin.  If 
self  preservation  be  to  political  bodies  an  obligation  para 
mount  to  every  other  law,  compact  or  stipulation,  it  can 
hardly  be  expected  that  the  present  alliance  will  be  an  in 
superable  obstacle  to  a  separate  peace  between  the  two 
Republics. 

The  French  have  hitherto  made  no  distinction  between  the 
different  partizans  in  the  places  where  they  have  obtained 


222  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

possession.  The  Stadtholderians  and  Patriots  share  the 
same  treatment,  and  no  alteration  is  made  in  the  general 
order  of  things.  These  circumstances  serve  to  strengthen 
the  hopes  of  peace,  while  the  dissensions  between  the  Allies 
strengthen  the  desire  for  it. 

The  English  troops  discriminate  as  little  as  the  French. 
They  have  made  themselves  equally  obnoxious  to  all  parties, 
and  plunder  and  illtreat  the  Stadtholderians  as  much  as  the 
Patriots.  A  gentleman  professedly  of  the  governing  party 
told  me  the  people  were  much  more  afraid  of  the  English 
than  of  the  French,  and  after  a  variety  of  other  observations 
expressive  of  his  fears  exclaimed,  Peace  !  Peace  !  We  must 
have  Peace  !  The  violence  and  misconduct  of  the  British 
troops  is  a  fact  established  beyond  a  question  by  a  public 
proclamation  issued  by  the  Duke  of  York,  which  you  will 
doubtless  have  seen  in  the  late  British  papers.  I  have  there 
fore  not  scrupled  to  mention  it  as  a  cause  of  complaint  in 
the  mouth  of  everyone  here.  As  to  the  additional  charges 
brought  against  them,  implying  a  want  of  spirit  as  well  as 
of  conduct  in  them,  and  the  imputation  of  their  propensity 
to  retreat,  as  well  as  the  reports  injurious  to  the  imperitorial 
character  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  himself,  representing 
him  as  indulging  more  in  convivial  pleasures  than  the  ex 
treme  delicacy  of  his  present  situation  renders  proper,  or 
the  rigid  severity  of  Dutch  austerity  deems  decorous,  I 
must  consider  all  this  as  unwarranted  scandal,  which  how 
ever  prevalent  may  be  altogether  groundless,  and  only 
proves  that  the  allies  are  very  much  dissatisfied  with  one 
another. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  is  hourly  expected  to  take  the 
command  and  his  arrival  is  ardently  desired  by  those  who 
think  the  system  of  resistance  still  practicable. 

The  appearance  of  internal  opposition  to  the  government 


1794)  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  223 

is  entirely  quelled  for  the  present.  Mr.  Van  Staphorst  is  at 
Hamborough,  out  of  the  reach  of  this  jurisdiction.  Mr. 
Visschcr  is  closely  confined,  and  the  subscribers  to  the  peti 
tion  I  have  more  than  once  mentioned  to  you  have  suffered 
themselves  to  be  disarmed  without  resistance. 

November  8.  Mr.  Van  Hees  the  agent  of  their  High 
Mightinesses  called  on  me,  to  give  me  notice  that  they  had 
passed  a  resolution  to  acknowledge  me  in  my  public  charac 
ter.  After  which  I  asked  him  whether  there  was  any  in 
telligence  from  the  armies.  Nimeguen  he  answered  was 
heavily  bombarded  by  the  last  accounts  from  thence,  which 
were  of  yesterday.  The  news  from  Maastricht  lie  said  was 
very  bad.  "It  is  pretended,"  said  he,  "that  it  capitulated 
on  the  4th."  I  suppose  therefore  there  is  no  doubt  of  the 
fact.  I  told  him  that  probably  the  campaign  must  soon 
terminate.  "It  must  come  to  an  end  soon  somehow  or 
other,"  said  he.  "What  can  be  done  when  the  allies  aban 
don  us  ?"  I  asked  him  if  the  King  of  Prussia  had  certainly 
made  peace  ?  "So  it  is  said,  but  the  letters  from  Berlin  deny 
it."  What  ?  The  latest  letters  from  thence.  Generally, 
the  letters  from  Berlin.  He  did  not  chuse,  therefore,  to 
answer  my  question  as  to  the  latest  letters,  yet  the  inference 
is  not  absolutely  conclusive  that  they  have  letters  from 
thence  confirming  the  fact. 

I  hope  we  shall  soon  have  some  agreeable  intelligence  from 
our  own  country.  The  western  insurrection  has  a  most 
disagreeable  effect  upon  the  credit  and  reputation  of  America. 
A  thousand  exaggerations  of  the  fact  are  propagated  with 
great  avidity,  our  friends  know  not  what  to  deny,  the  malev 
olence  of  our  enemies  is  gratified,  and  the  advocates  of 
universal  freedom  and  humanity  are  afraid  of  losing  the 
only  country  for  which  they  can  appeal  for  the  practicability 
of  their  theories.  I  hope  we  shall  soon  relieve  them  from 


224  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

their  alarms,  and  shew  them  once  more  the  perfect  image 
of  united  liberty  and  submission. 

With  every  sentiment  of  respect  I  remain,  Sir,  your  very 
humble  and  obedient  servant. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  November  9,  1794. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

Under  the  present  circumstances  of  affairs  in  this  country, 
I  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  make  any  unnecessary  delay 
in  England,  and  accordingly  left  London  of  the  28th  of  last 
month.  Our  passage  to  Helvoet  was  short  though  not 
agreeable,  the  packet  being  very  much  crowded  with 
passengers.  We  were  only  three  days  from  London  to  this 
place. 

I  had  been  told  in  London  that  I  should  perceive  fewer 
symptoms  of  war  in  this  country  than  I  should  leave  behind 
me  there ;  but  I  had  no  idea  of  finding  everything  so  per 
fectly  quiet  as  it  is.  Excepting  the  course  of  conversation 
in  company,  you  would  imagine  yourself  to  be  in  a  land 
blessed  with  a  profound  peace.  No  confusion,  no  agitation, 
no  aggregations  in  the  streets,  no  appearance  of  exertion. 
I  had  almost  said  no  symptom  from  any  part  of  the  people 
of  feeling  an  interest  in  the  fate  of  their  country.  You 
remember,  Sir,  how  feeble  the  efforts  of  this  people  were 
when  their  war  broke  out  with  England  in  1781.  Yet  at 
that  time  the  active  spirit  of  liberty  predominated.  Patriot 
ism  was  the  popular  idol,  and  the  power  which  upon  the 
whole  governed  the  country  rested  much  for  its  support 
upon  the  motives  of  public  spirit.  But  now  that  the  reins 
of  government  are  held  by  a  power,  professedly  founded 
upon  mere  force,  a  power  which  has  always  been  at  war  with 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  225 

public  spirit  and  considered  patriotism  as  its  deadly  enemy, 
which  has  always  dreaded  enthusiasm  and  discountenanced 
the  amour  sacre  de  la  patrie,  you  may  judge  what  a  state  of 
lifeless  imbecility  characterizes  the  people,  even  at  a  moment 
so  full  of  danger  and  dismay  as  the  present. 

The  Government  meets  with  no  internal  resistance.  The 
appearance  of  opposition  lately  made  at  Amsterdam,  has 
been  completely  crushed,  and  the  petitioners  have  tamely 
delivered  up  their  arms  at  command.  Van  Staphorst  has 
fled,  and  is  safe  at  Hamburg.  Visscher  is  in  close  confine 
ment,  and  patriotism  is  again  compelled  to  hide  its  head. 
This  people  I  fear  have  lost  that  energy  of  character  which 
once  so  honourably  distinguished  them.  Had  there  been 
a  common  share  of  spirit  displayed  by  the  petitioners  at 
Amsterdam,  the  consequences  I  am  informed  would  have 
been  extremely  different;  but  it  was  a  struggle  between 
weakness  and  impotence,  in  which  the  former  can  scarcely 
be  said  to  have  obtained  the  victory,  though  the  latter  was 
certainly  defeated. 

But  passive  obedience  and  non-resistance  are  one  thing; 
and  the  warm,  animated  zeal,  which  is  necessary  for  the 
defence  of  an  invaded  country,  the  dauntless  heart  and  the 
nervous  arm,  which  inspired  and  directed  by  the  enthusiasm 
of  liberty  have  heretofore  performed  miracles  for  the  salvation 
of  this  as  well  as  of  other  countries,  are  another.  The  strength 
of  the  government  is  sufficient  to  control  the  inclinations  of 
their  adversaries  within  their  walls,  but  it  can  hope  nothing 
from  their  assistance.  It  can  paralyze  their  limbs,  but  cannot 
arm  them  in  its  defence. 

They  have  to  contend  with  enemies  of  a  very  different 
description,  with  armies  powerful  in  numbers,  under  the 
most  perfect  discipline,  of  uncontrolable  impetuosity,  and 
who  pursue  to  the  utmost  every  advantage  they  obtain. 

Q 


226  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

There  is  another  circumstance  which  has  added  to  the 
extreme  debility  which  has  characterized  the  defence  of  their 
frontier  against  the  present  invasion.  The  length  of  time 
elapsed  since  this  country  has  been  before  engaged  in  a  war 
by  land  has  removed  all  the  officers  of  martial  experience 
from  their  troops,  but  especially  from  the  command  of  their 
fortified  towns.  The  usual  system  of  patronage  and  pro 
tection  has  conferred  most  of  these  places  as  sinecures  upon 
favorites,  and  in  the  distribution  of  the  places  military  merit 
has  been  deemed  the  most  unnecessary  and  useless  of  all 
qualifications  in  the  officer  to  be  provided  for.  The  benefit 
of  the  individual  was  the  only  consideration  of  importance, 
for  as  to  the  service  required,  where  is  the  cowardice  or 
stupidity  that  can  be  inadequate  to  the  mere  parade  of  a 
military  government  in  time  of  peace  ? 

But  however  suitable  the  post  may  be  to  the  officer  in 
peace,  it  seems  the  officer  turns  out  very  unsuitable  to 
the  post  in  war.  So  that  when  the  day  of  trial  comes,  one 
commander  resigns  on  account  of  his  health ;  another  finds 
himself  incapable  to  maintain  his  station  from  his  old  age. 
A  third  contrives  means  to  be  disgusted  at  some  paltry 
pretence  for  taking  offence ;  and  a  fourth  without  ceremony 
surrenders  as  soon  as  his  command  is  invested.  I  am  told 
that  all  these  things  have  really  happened,  and  the  most 
bitter  execrations  are  vented  against  the  Prince  of  Hesse, 
the  late  governor  of  Bois  le  Due,  for  capitulating  as  he  did. 
Treachery  and  cowardice  are  both  very  liberally  imputed 
to  him  by  the  partisans  of  this  government,  but  I  know  not 
with  how  much  foundation.  A  momentary  popular  odium 
is  very  often  the  lot  of  the  best  officer  when  unfortunate, 
and  at  such  a  point  of  time  the  voice  of  the  people  is  far 
from  being  infallible.  .  .  . 

It  is  to  me  a  new  thing  under  the  sun,  to  see  a  people 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  227 

anxious  to  be  conquered,  and  praying  for  the  success  of  their 
enemies  ;  though  not  indeed  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  hu 
mility.  This  phenomenon  now  discovers  itself  more  and 
more  to  my  view.  Since  my  arrival  here  the  intelligence 
has  been  generally  unfavorable  to  the  allies.  The  king  of 
Prussia's  peace  is  ascertained.  Maestricht  has  capitulated, 
and  Nimeguen  is  severely  bombarded ;  at  each  of  these 
several  articles  of  news  I  have  seen  more  than  one  Dutch 
man's  eyes  sparkle  with  pleasure,  and  I  have  observed  coun 
tenances  to  fall  at  the  transient  rumors  of  successful  sallies 
from  both  those  towns,  which  have  been  invented  and  prop 
agated  to  cheer  the  sinking  spirits  of  the  Orange  party.  .  .  . 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  6  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

AMSTERDAM,  November  16,  1794. 
SIR  : 

The  Stadtholder  returned  to  the  Hague  from  Nimeguen 
four  days  since.  On  the  I4th  I  had  the  honor  of  an  audience 
from  him  and  delivered  my  credentials,  so  that  the  forms  of 
my  reception  at  this  Court  are  finished.1 

I  came  yesterday  from  the  Hague  to  this  city,  where  I 
hope  to  have  better  means  of  obtaining  information  which 
may  be  worthy  of  communication  than  I  could  at  that 
place. 

In  my  last  letter  I  mentioned  the  peace  said  to  have  been 
made  by  the  King  of  Prussia  as  a  fact  almost  ascertained. 
Since  that  it  has  again  become  more  questionable,  and  at 
present  is  even  denied  with  great  confidence.  From  various 
symptoms  however  I  still  venture  to  speak  of  it  as  an  event 

1  "He  was  civil  enough"  is  the  entry  in  the  Diary.  An  audience  with  the  Prin 
cess  of  Orange  was  given  on  December  4. 


228  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

which,  if  it  has  not  yet  already  taken  place,  may  be  expected 
before  spring. 

Nimeguen  has  met  with  the  same  fate  as  Maestricht,  or 
rather  with  a  worse,  for  it  did  not  obtain  a  capitulation. 
The  British  troops  in  evacuating  the  place  did  not  retrieve 
their  character  for  good  order  and  rigid  discipline. 

By  the  capture  of  Maestricht  an  army  of  thirty-five 
thousand  French  troops  is  released  to  act  elsewhere,  and 
Breda  and  Gertruydenberg  are  said  to  be  menaced.  The 
whole  number  of  the  French  troops  who  are  now  brought  to 
bear  upon  this  country  is  about  ninety  thousand  men.  Of  the 
allies  there  are  not  more  than  thirty-five  thousand  to  oppose 
them.  I  know  not  of  any  defensible  fortress  to  balance  this 
great  inequality  of  numbers,  and  you  can  easily  judge  what 
the  event  probably  will  be  under  circumstances  like  these. 

The  French  troops  I  am  just  informed  have  already  crossed 
the  Waal,  at  Tiel.  Nimeguen  did  capitulate.  A  gentle 
man  just  told  me  he  saw  the  convention,  consisting  of  three 
articles.  That  a  continuance  of  their  customary  rights  and 
privileges  is  stipulated  for  the  inhabitants.  The  allied 
troops  evacuated  the  town  and  crossed  the  river  previous 
to  the  capitulation,  leaving  only  800  men  behind,  who  could 
not  get  over  the  river,  the  floating  bridge  having  been  burnt. 
The  troops  that  crossed  were  exceedingly  harassed  in  their 
passage,  and  met  with  great  loss  from  the  fire  of  their  enemy. 
The  crisis  of  this  country's  fate  is  approaching  with  great 
rapidity  and  peace,  if  they  can  obtain  it,  is  become  of  despotic 
necessity  to  them. 

Upon  my  arrival  here  last  evening  Mr.  Bourne  called  on 
me,  and  told  me  he  had  just  come  from  seeing  General 
Eustace,1  who  had  in  the  morning  been  arrested  and  had 

1  John  Skey  Eustace,  who  had  served  as  aid  to  Major-General  Charles  Lee  in 
the  American  War  of  Independence.  See  Lee  Papers  (New  York  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.) ; 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  229 

his  papers  seized  by  order  of  the  magistracy  of  this  city, 
that  he  was  confined  to  his  chamber  with  a  guard  over 
him,  and  his  papers  had  been  sent  to  the  Hague.  Nothing 
criminal  had  however  been  found  among  his  papers,  and  he 
expected  to  be  released  as  soon  as  an  order  should  be  ob 
tained  from  thence.  That  the  General  had  served  in  the 
French  armies  since  the  declaration  of  war  between  the  two 
Republics,  but,  upon  receiving  the  Proclamation  of  the 
President,  declaring  the  neutrality  of  the  United  States, 
had  immediately  resigned  his  command  and  withdrawn  from 
the  service  of  France. 

This  morning  a  gentleman  of  this  city,  a  friend  of  General 
Eustace,  called  to  see  me,  and  requested  me  to  interpose  in 
such  manner  as  I  should  think  proper  in  behalf  of  that 
gentleman  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  I  told  him  that 
as  one  of  my  fellow  citizens  that  General  was  entitled  to  all 
the  good  offices  and  assistance  that  I  could  render  him,  but 
that  no  representation  on  my  part  would  probably  be  of 
any  service  to  him,  if  he  had  forfeited  his  right  to  the  privi 
leges  of  the  American  neutrality  by  his  engagements  in  the 
French  service.  That  I  would  endeavor  to  obtain  permis 
sion  for  access  to  him  in  his  confinement,  and  would  do  every 
thing  to  serve  him  in  my  power,  consistent  with  propriety 
and  the  obligation  of  my  own  duty. 

Mr.  Visscher  and  the  five  other  persons  arrested  for  their 
concern  in  the  remonstrance  presented  to  the  magistracy 
have  been  sentenced  to  six  years  hard  labor  in  the  common 
workhouse  and  perpetual  banishment  afterwards.  The 
workhouse  is  the  customary  place  to  which  common  male 
factors  are  condemned. 

It  is  said  that  the  severity  of  this  punishment  was  owing 

Correspondence  of  French  Ministers  (Turner),  272;  and  Life  and  Correspondence 
of  Rufus  King,  II.  295. 


230  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

to  the  representations  of  the  British  Ambassador,  who 
insisted  upon  it  as  satisfaction  for  the  reflections  contained 
in  the  remonstrance  against  the  British  troops. 

November  ij.  I  wrote  a  card  this  morning  to  the  officer 
by  whose  command  General  Eustace  was  arrested,  informing 
him  that  this  gentleman  had  demanded  the  benefit  of  the 
treaties  subsisting  between  this  country  and  America,  and 
requesting  an  order  for  access  to  him.  The  officer  appointed 
this  day  at  one  o'clock  for  the  purpose.  And  when  I  went 
to  the  house  according  to  the  appointment  I  found  he  was 
already  released,  though  his  papers  are  not  yet  returned  to 
him.  They  have  apologized  in  some  measure  to  him,  and 
the  Grand  Bailiff  of  this  city  gave  as  an  excuse  to  me  that 
their  suspicions  had  been  grounded  upon  the  General's  hav 
ing  been  so  lately  in  the  service  of  France. 

Upon  conversing  with  him  afterwards  I  find  that  he  has 
never  served  in  the  French  armies,  since  the  war  with  this 
country,  and  is  therefore  fully  entitled  to  all  the  protection 
that  our  treaties  can  afford  him.  He  is  irritated,  as  may 
naturally  be  expected,  at  the  treatment  he  has  received, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  you  will  hear  from  him  upon 
the  subject  in  America. 

I  hear  of  an  opportunity  for  Philadelphia  which  obliges 
me  to  conclude  for  the  present  with  the  assurance  that  I 
remain,  with  sentiments  of  invariable  respect  and  consid 
eration,  Sir,  your  very  humble  and  obedient  servant. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  7  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

SIR:  AMSTERDAM,  November  19,  1794. 

The  opinion  that  a  general  peace  will  take  place  before  the 
opening  of  the  spring  is  still  very  prevalent,  though  I  do 


i794l  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  231 

not  find  any  one  who  professes  to  believe  it.  The  idea  appears 
to  be  only  founded  upon  the  absolute  necessity  which  is 
supposed  to  exist  on  the  part  of  the  combined  powers  to 
finish  the  war. 

With  respect  to  this  country,  the  letters  which  I  have  done 
myself  the  honor  to  write  you  since  my  arrival  here  will 
serve  to  shew  the  hopeless  condition  of  the  allies.  I  might 
perhaps  spare  you  the  trouble  of  reading  an  annoying  detail 
of  French  success,  which  in  all  human  probability  must  still 
continue,  until  their  own  moderation  shall  dictate  the  terms 
of  their  retreat,  or  the  perseverance  of  their  enemies  to 
maintain  an  impracticable  opposition  shall  plant  the  stand 
ard  of  the  French  Republic  upon  the  walls  of  Amsterdam. 

Britain,  however,  yet  adheres  inflexibly  to  the  continu 
ance  of  the  war,  and  this  determination  fully  coincides  with 
the  wishes  of  the  Patriotic  party  here.  This  extraordinary 
concurrence  is  no  doubt  extremely  embarrassing  to  the 
government  of  the  United  Provinces,  nor  is  it  easy  to  con 
ceive  how  they  will  extricate  themselves  from  this  critical 
predicament.  A  continuance  of  the  war  they  have  reason 
to  expect  will  terminate  in  their  utter  destruction.  A 
separate  peace  with  France  would  no  doubt  be  humiliating 
to  them  in  the  extreme,  but  it  might  at  least  serve  to  pro 
long  their  existence,  and  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the 
declaration  in  favor  of  this  measure  originated  first  in 
Zeeland,  the  Province  where  the  power  of  the  Stadtholder 
is  the  most  extensive  and  his  influence  the  most  universal. 

The  Patriots  are  very  sanguine  in  the  expectation  that 
France  will  make  common  cause  with  them,  and  will  not 
treat  at  all  without  the  total  expulsion  of  the  Stadtholder. 
But  I  confess  I  do  not  see  at  present  upon  what  foundation 
their  expectation  stands.  If  there  were  any  concert  between 
them,  it  would  necessarily  be  kept  profoundly  secret,  and 


232  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

it  is  therefore  impossible  to  say  that  none  actually  exists. 
I  can  only  observe  that  I  have  not  discovered  anything  upon 
which  a  probability  of  such  a  circumstance  can  be  raised, 
and  all  the  public  appearances  are  against  it. 

France  lately  renewed  the  declaration,  that  she  will  not 
interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  any  other  country.  She 
makes  no  distinction  between  the  different  partisans  in  the 
places  which  have  capitulated,  nor  does  any  particular 
animosity  against  the  House  of  Orange  appear  at  present, 
either  in  her  public  councils,  or  in  her  armies.  So  that  a 
peace  between  the  French  Republic  and  the  present  States 
General  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  an  impossible  event. 

It  is  now  said  that  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  has  positively 
refused  the  command  of  the  allied  army,  or  rather,  that  he 
annexed  such  conditions  to  his  acceptance  as  could  not  be 
complied  with.  The  dissatisfaction  between  the  people  of 
this  country  and  their  English  allies  continually  increases. 
The  complaints  against  the  Commander-in-Chief  become 
more  and  more  grievous  from  day  to  day.  The  nature  of 
them  will  be  fully  explained  to  you  by  the  bearer  of  this 
letter. 

The  intelligence  of  every  kind  relating  to  the  war  is  only 
to  be  gleaned  from  the  private  letters  which  arrive  from  the 
invaded  country.  The  Duke  of  York's1  defeat  of  the  I9th 
of  last  month,  an  account  of  which  I  wrote  you  from  London, 
was  not  publicly  known  at  the  Hague  on  my  arrival  there. 
Every  unfavorable  event  is  suppressed  as  much  as  possible, 
and  the  printers  of  public  newspapers  are  suspended  in 
their  employments  for  weeks  and  months  together  for  pub 
lishing  simple  facts,  which  happen  to  be  disagreeable  at 
Court.  The  liberty  of  the  press  and,  indeed,  every  other 
species  of  liberty,  are  circumscribed  within  very  narrow 

1  Frederick  (1763-1827),  son  of  George  III. 


i794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  233 

limits.  Every  traveller,  as  soon  as  he  alights  at  an  inn, 
must  declare  in  writing  his  name,  his  occupation,  his  place 
of  abode,  whence  he  comes,  where  he  is  going,  how  long  he 
means  to  stay,  and  by  whom  he  is  known  in  this  country. 
General  Eustace  was  arrested  and  had  his  papers  seized, 
because  he  was  accidentally  detained  here  a  day  or  two 
longer  than  he  had  thus  signified  his  intention  to  remain. 
The  meeting  of  the  British  Parliament  is  to  be  next  week, 
and  it  is  expected  with  much  solicitude  by  the  political 
speculators.  The  Portuguese  Minister  at  the  Hague,1 
happening  to  be  here  on  a  visit,  as  well  as  myself,  and 
lodging  at  the  same  house,  called  on  me  last  evening.  It  is 
hardly  possible  for  a  conversation  at  this  time  to  turn  upon 
any  other  subject  than  the  prospect  of  peace.2  He  said  he 
did  not  see  how  it  could  take  place,  as  long  as  England  should 
hold  out.  France  had  reconquered  all  her  West  India 
Islands  in  Flanders,  and  she  would  not  certainly  restore  her 
conquests  unless  her  own  possessions  should  be  restored 
to  her.  Without  the  consent  of  England  there  could  be  no 
return  to  the  status  quo,  and  England  was  not  yet  reduced  to 
the  necessity  of  resigning  her  acquisitions.  The  King  has 
lately  accepted  the  sovereignty  of  Corsica,  which  this 
gentleman  considers  as  a  very  important  accession  to  the 
British  dominions,  as  facilitating  very  much  their  views  for 
the  extension  of  their  trade  in  the  Levant,  by  giving  them 
a  convenient  port  in  the  Mediterranean.  This  will  be 
another  motive  for  the  obstinacy  of  Britain  to  persist  in  the 
war,  and  if  she  should  become  the  sole  combatant  of  France 
she  could  wage  the  war,  which  in  that  case  would  become 

1  Chevalier  d'Araujo. 

2  "The  King  of  Prussia's  peace  turns  out  to  be  a  stock  jobbing  or  trading  specu 
lation.     The  Spanish  peace  I  suppose  must  be  the  same.     The  error,  however,  is 
only  in  chronology.     It  is  only  giving  that  as  already  done,  which  must  be  done 
very  soon."     To  William  Short,  November  21,  1794.     Ms. 


234  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

exclusively  maritime,  much  more  advantageously  and  with 
better  prospect  of  success  than  she  does  at  present. 

Speaking  of  the  cause  of  complaint  given  by  that  power 
to  the  neutral  nations,  I  observed  that  the  system  in  which 
it  originated  was  somewhat  extraordinary.  I  found  his 
ideas  upon  the  subject  perfectly  coincided  with  ours.  "A 
single  town  besieged/'  said  he,  "may  be  reduced  by  famine. 
The  means  may  be  within  the  power  of  the  besiegers.  The 
operation  is  of  partial  effect.  The  inhabitants  in  general 
suffer  only  the  inconvenience  of  hunger,  and  the  place 
surrenders.  But  to  pretend  and  attempt  to  starve  twenty- 
four  millions  of  people,  to  cut  off  all  the  means  of  subsist 
ence  from  a  country  situated  like  France,  independent  of 
the  moral  complexion  of  such  a  design  upon  which  there 
is  nothing  to  be  said,  it  was  merely  on  the  point  of  prac 
ticability  a  thing  altogether  new.  He  believed  such  a 
design  was  never  formed  before,  and  on  the  score  of  policy 
it  was  certainly  the  method  to  unite  the  whole  force  of 
every  individual  in  France  against  the  allies,  and  to  give 
the  national  power  an  energy  which  nothing  else  could  do 
so  effectually." 

That  plan  is  received  almost  universally  in  the  same 
light,  and  as  Mr.  Araujo  says  it  is  the  first  attempt  of  the 
kind,  so  I  think  it  will  not  very  soon  be  again  renewed.  I 
think  however  that  precedents  of  this  kind  may  be  found  in 
the  annals  of  British  policy,  and  we  were  during  the  American 
war  indebted  to  them  for  a  similar  intention. 

I  this  moment  hear  that  an  agreement  for  a  temporary 
cessation  of  hostilities  until  further  order  has  been  agreed 
on  by  the  officers  of  the  contending  armies  on  this  and  the 
other  side  of  the  Waal.  This  is  considered  as  a  prelimi 
nary  to  winter  quarters,  to  be  taken  on  both  sides,  of  which 
however  I  very  much  doubt.  The  weather  grows  cold,  and 


1794)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  235 

a  severe  season  is  expected  by  everybody,  though  I  know 
not  exactly  why.  The  Stadtholderians  tell  us,  it  will  be 
favorable  to  them,  as  the  French  armies  cannot  keep  the 
field  with  hard  weather  in  this  climate  in  winter.  The 
Patriots  say  that  the  cold  will  only  shut  up  the  canals, 
defeat  the  benefit  of  an  inundation,  and  make  the  best 
possible  road  for  the  French  troops  to  march  into  Amster 
dam.  We  shall  soon  see  what  foundation  there  is  for  all 
or  either  of  these  opinions.  I  am,  etc. 


TO  JAMES   MONROE 

AMSTERDAM,  November  22,  1794. 
SIR: 

I  received  last  evening  from  London  the  papers  which 
I  now  take  the  liberty  to  inclose,  together  with  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Boylston,1  the  gentleman  who  chartered  the  vessel 2 
in  question,  and  with  whom  I  have  had  a  long  and  valuable 
acquaintance. 

His  letter  states  to  me,  and  with  obvious  truth,  that  an 
early  as  well  as  a  favorable  decision  upon  this  case  is  of 
vast  importance  to  the  interests  of  the  United  States ;  that 
in  consequence  of  this  capture  an  immediate  rise  of  an 
hundred  per  centum  of  the  premium  upon  insurance  of  all 
American  ships  took  place,  although  it  was  already  before 
that  time  double  the  ordinary  peace  premium.  There  are 
many  other  considerations  which  render  any  obstruction  to 
the  facility  of  our  returning  commerce  from  Great  Britain 
at  this  time  peculiarly  injurious  to  us,  and  which  you  will 
certainly  be  able  to  appreciate  at  their  proper  value. 

Mr.  Boylston  estimates  at  nearly  £700,000  sterling  the 

1  Ward  Nicholas  Boylston. 

8  The  brig  Mary,  Captain  Titcomb. 


236  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [i794 

annual  burthen  of  extraordinary  insurance  to  which  our 
commerce  is  subjected  by  this  rise  of  premium.  His  cal 
culation  I  think  is  not  much  too  high,  and  it  becomes  an 
object  of  the  greater  moment  to  the  interest  of  our  country, 
as  so  large  a  proportion  of  our  insurance  is  made  in  England  ; 
so  that  in  its  effects  the  principle  of  this  capture  operates 
for  the  present  to  the  detriment  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  benefit  of  Great  Britain. 

I  am  well  assured,  Sir,  that  your  zeal  for  the  interests 
of  the  United  States  in  general,  and  for  the  security  and 
efficacy  of  their  rights  to  all  your  fellow  citizens  individually, 
is  too  ardent  and  active  to  be  susceptible  of  any  accession 
from  my  solicitations.  It  would  therefore  be  unnecessary, 
though  I  hope  it  will  not  be  improper  for  me  to  add,  that  in 
the  particular  instance  upon  which  I  now  address  you  my 
feelings  of  private  friendship  coincide  with  my  concern  for 
the  public  welfare.  That  the  gentlemen  to  whom  the  prop 
erty  was  addressed  and  belonged  are  all  personally  known 
to  me.  That  Mr.  Gill  is  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  Messrs.  Head  and  Amory  are  among  the  most 
respectable  citizens  of  Boston,  and  that  in  recommending 
the  case  to  your  attention  I  follow  the  impulse  of  my  incli 
nation  no  less  than  the  dictate  of  my  duty. 

I  am  happy,  Sir,  that  this  opportunity  is  given  me  to 
return  you  my  best  acknowledgments  for  your  kind  offer 
of  a  good  understanding  and  correspondence  between  us,  of 
which  my  father  informed  me  at  the  time  when  I  had  the 
honor  of  being  appointed  to  my  present  station.  I  should 
have  notified  you  of  my  arrival  here  before  this  but  for  the 
interruption  of  the  communication  between  France  and  this 
country,  consequent  upon  the  present  state  of  affairs. 
When  the  regular  intercourse  shall  again  be  restored  I  shall 
feel  myself  honored  by  a  correspondence  as  frequent  and 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  237 

considerable  as  may  consist  with  propriety  and  the  public 
service.     I  am,  etc. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  9  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

AMSTERDAM,  November  24th,  1794. 

I  have  made  inquiry  of  several  merchants  concerned  in 
the  American  trade,  whether  there  was  any  ground  of  com 
plaint  arising  from  the  want  of  execution  attending  any 
article  of  our  treaty  of  commerce  with  their  High  Mighti 
nesses  ?  1  The  general  answer  has  been,  that  many  em 
barrassments,  burthens  and  discouragements  have  been 
laid  upon  our  trade,  and  that  there  is  real  cause  of  com 
plaint  as  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  stipulations  in  the  Treaty. 
But  in  endeavoring  to  ascertain  particulars  I  have  hitherto 
been  unsuccessful. 

The  merchants  of  Amsterdam  are  remarkably  averse  from 
communication  relative  to  their  trade.  They  are  as  evasive 
in  answering  any  questions  either  as  to  its  principles  or  its 
details  as  if  they  were  all  ministers  of  State,  and  although 
I  have  met  with  abundance  of  dissatisfaction  with  the 
oppression  of  our  commerce,  I  have  in  vain  requested  and 
even  solicited  a  particular  statement  of  its  grievances.  It 
has  been  indeed  promised  from  more  than  one  quarter,  and 
I  am  yet  not  without  hopes  of  obtaining  it,  though  I  have 
hitherto  been  disappointed  in  my  expectations. 

As  far  however  as  I  have  been  able  to  procure  informa 
tion  as  to  the  foundation  of  the  complaint  it  is  upon  two 
grounds.  The  one  arising  from  the  recent  prohibition  of 
sundry  articles  from  exportation,  and  the  other  from  the 

»That  of  1782. 


238  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1794 

perception  in  some  cases  of  heavier  duties  upon  the  American 
navigation  than  upon  that  of  the  most  favored  nation. 
With  respect  to  the  first  they  say,  it  is  a  direct  violation  of 
the  article  in  the  treaty  upon  the  subject  of  contraband.1 
I  have  never  considered,  however,  that  this  article,  which 
under  different  modifications  is  common  to  almost  all 
treaties  of  commerce,  implied  a  surrender  of  the  contracting 
parties  of  their  right  to  prohibit  in  cases  of  emergency  the 
exportation  of  articles  which  become  of  the  first  necessity 
for  their  own  use.  I  have  however  requested  a  list  of  the 
articles  which  have  lately  been  thus  prohibited ;  but  the 
gentlemen  who  are  the  most  discontented  with  the  prohibi 
tion,  and  who  at  first  promised  me  such  a  list,  have  since 
excused  themselves  from  it,  observing  that  at  this  critical 
moment,  while  the  government  itself  is  in  so  dangerous  and 
precarious  a  situation,  they  think  it  would  be  most  advis 
able  to  postpone  any  representations  upon  this  point,  and 
wait  for  more  quiet  and  peaceable  times.  The  only  articles 
I  have  heard  mentioned  in  conversation  are  gunpowder  and 
alum.  I  have  been  promised  also  a  copy  of  a  petition 
lately  presented  by  the  merchants  concerned  in  our  trade 
to  the  States  General  upon  this  subject.  Perhaps  some 
further  information  will  result  from  the  perusal  of  that. 
At  present  I  can  only  say  in  general  terms  that  the  exporta 
tion  of  several  articles  of  merchandise  has  lately  been  pro 
hibited  from  hence,  that  American  vessels  have  not  been 
excepted  from  the  effect  of  this  prohibition,  and  that  the 
merchants  in  our  trade  complain  of  it  as  a  grievance. 

The  difference  between  the  duties  to  which  our  commerce 
and  that  of  the  most  favored  nation  are  severally  subject, 

1  Article  XXIV.  Monroe  was  raising  in  France  questions  of  a  like  import  upon 
the  two  articles  of  the  treaty  of  1778  governing  neutral  trade  and  contraband  — 
articles  XXIII  and  XXIV.  Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II.  41,  101. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  239 

appears  to  me  more  liable  to  a  demand  on  our  part  for  the 
enjoyment  of  the  stipulation  contained  in  the  treaty.  It  is 
known  to  you,  Sir,  that  for  many  years  there  has  been  in 
this  country  a  chartered  West  India  Company.  They  had 
a  certain  jurisdiction  by  virtue  of  which  all  the  duties  laid 
upon  the  commerce  with  the  West  Indies  were  made  payable 
to  them  instead  of  the  Admiralty,  and  in  many  instances 
there  is  a  difference  between  the  impositions  upon  the  same 
articles  imported  under  the  two  different  administrations. 
Previous  to  our  Revolution  the  trade  with  North  America 
was  comprehended  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  West 
India  Company,  which  at  that  time  was  more  favorable 
to  the  commerce  than  if  it  had  been  within  that  of  the 
Admiralty.  At  the  expiration  of  the  Company's  charter  a 
few  years  since,  they  made  a  bankruptcy,  and  surrendered 
all  their  affairs  into  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  the  States 
General,  to  whom  all  their  rights  and  powers  are  thus 
transferred.  The  commerce  of  the  United  States,  however, 
continues  upon  the  same  footing  on  which  it  stood  while 
they  were  British  colonies,  and  by  its  connection  with  the 
privileges  of  the  West  India  Company  is  subjected  to  much 
heavier  impositions  than  it  would  be  at  the  Admiralty, 
especially  upon  the  article  of  spices.  For  since  the  partici 
pation  we  have  obtained  in  the  carrying  trade,  in  consequence 
of  our  own  and  the  French  Revolutions,  our  commerce  with 
this  country  has  become  a  very  different  thing  from  what  it 
was  in  the  days  of  our  subjection,  and  its  dependence  upon 
the  charter  of  the  West  India  Company,  which  was  then 
much  to  its  advantage,  is  now  converted  into  a  heavy  burthen 
by  exposing  it  to  the  charges  of  a  greater  tax  than  is  levied 
upon  the  navigation  of  other  nations  in  the  carriage  of  the 
same  articles. 

The  merchants  in  our  trade  consider  this  as  altogether 


240  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

inconsistent  with  the  article  of  the  treaty  which  places  us 
upon  the  level  of  the  most  favored  nation.  I  think  so  too, 
unless  we  have  submitted  to  it  by  express  agreement,  which 
is  said  by  one  gentleman  with  whom  I  have  conversed  upon 
the  subject  to  be  the  case.  I  have  not  yet  got  from  Eng 
land  the  books  which  I  took  from  America,  and  have  not 
an  opportunity  of  consulting  the  treaties  at  present.  I  have 
thought  it  my  duty  to  acquaint  you  at  any  rate  with  the 
circumstances,  and  shall  equally  forward  any  further  in 
formation  as  it  shall  come  to  my  own  knowledge. 

November  2$th.  The  British  Parliament  is  prorogued 
again  till  the  thirty-first  of  December,  and  the  funds  rose 
in  consequence  of  that  measure  two  or  three  per  cent.  The 
prorogation  is  received  as  a  portent  of  negotiations  for  a 
general  peace.  On  the  other  hand  the  National  Convention 
have  appointed  two  commissioners  to  be  employed  upon 
business  under  the  direction  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  but  secret  even  to  the  Convention  itself.  These 
facts  combined  with  the  capture  of  Nimeguen  and  Maes- 
tricht,  the  subsequent  inaction  of  the  armies  on  both  sides, 
and  Mr.  FageFs  mission  to  London,  all  strengthen  the 
expectation  of  peace. 

The  Insurrection  of  Poland  appears  once  more  to  be 
subdued.  After  a  succession  of  severe  defeats  and  the 
capture  of  Kosciuszko x  and  his  successor  in  command, 
Warsaw  has  capitulated.  The  public  sentiment  even  in 
England  and  this  country  was  generally  favorable  to  the 
cause  of  the  Poles,  but  the  destiny  of  that  unhappy  people 
must  be  completed. 

An  occurrence  of  a  different  complexion  is  that  La  Fayette 
has  made  his  escape  from  prison,  together  with  two  compan 
ions  one  of  whom  however  was  retaken.  This  intelligence 

1  At  Maciejowice,  October  10.     The  Russians  entered  Warsaw  November  8. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  241 

comes  from  very  good  authority  by  a  letter  from  Breslau 
to  a  gentleman  in  this  city. 

A  cockade  with  the  word  Egalite  marked  upon  it  is  cir 
culated  among  the  patriots  in  this  city,  who  do  not  yet 
venture  however  to  wear  it.  This  is  a  symptom  of  an  under 
standing  with  the  invading  nation  and  of  a  concert  among 
themselves  in  the  party  here  which,  though  trivial  in  itself, 
is  more  strongly  marked  than  any  other  that  has  reached 
me.1  I  have  the  honor,  etc. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  10  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  December  2,  1794. 
SIR  : 

In  my  last  letter  I  informed  you  of  the  opinion  that  was 
gaining  ground  in  public,  that  a  peace  would  be  speedily 
effected,  and  of  the  occurrences  generally  known  upon  which 
that  opinion  was  founded.  Its  prevalence  was  in  no  respect 
more  distinguishable  than  in  its  different  effects  upon  the 
spirits  of  the  two  parties  in  this  country.  The  countenances 
of  the  Orangists  and  of  the  Patriots  had  undergone  a  recip 
rocal  change.  Their  conversation  betrayed  symptoms  of 
the  same  revolution.  From  the  dejection  of  impotence  and 
despair,  the  formerly  suddenly  assumed  a  degree  of  confi 
dence  and  assurance  as  great  as  victory  itself  could  have 
inspired,  and  some  of  them  with  a  significancy  of  nod  and 
shrug,  and  all  the  grimace  of  mystery,  hinted  that  peace 
was  certainly  negotiating  at  that  moment,  and  the  terms 
were  so  far  settled  and  agreed  on  that  the  present  ruling 
power  in  this  country  was  perfectly  secure.  On  the  other 
hand  the  Patriots,  by  whom  the  arrival  of  the  French  is 

1  He  returned  to  The  Hague  November  28. 


242  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

expected  much  more  ardently  and  more  devoutly  wished 
than  the  Messiah  by  the  children  of  Abraham,  began  to 
tremble  and  falter,  and  manifestly  to  discover  their  fears 
of  being  abandoned  by  their  promised  deliverers.  It  was 
said  that  Sweden  and  Denmark  were  to  be  jointly  the  media 
tors  between  the  belligerent  powers,  but  the  Orangists  were 
in  too  great  haste  for  peace  to  think  of  the  forms  and  niceties 
of  a  mediation.  In  a  numerous  party  composed  of  persons 
of  this  description  at  Amsterdam,  I  heard  more  than  one 
of  them  express  a  great  contempt  for  the  idea  of  a  media 
tion,  and  affirm  that  the  powers  interested  in  the  event  would 
easily  settle  their  differences,  without  the  intervention  of 
any  mediator.  The  unexpected  prorogation  of  the  British 
Parliament  was  considered  as  full  proof  that  the  Ministry 
of  that  country  had  determined  to  negotiate,  and  as  to  any 
difficulty  arising  on  the  part  of  France,  it  scarcely  appears 
to  enter  their  minds  in  the  form  of  a  possibility. 

The  next  report  was  that  the  mediation  was  to  be  from  the 
United  States,  and  that  Mr.  Jay  was  already  commissioned 
for  the  purpose. 

I  last  evening  returned  the  visit  of  the  Minister  of  Portu 
gal,  which  he  had  made  me  at  Amsterdam.  Speaking 
upon  the  subject  of  peace  he  said  it  was  in  the  power  of  this 
country  to  obtain  it.  She  had  only  to  speak  the  word,  and 
it  would  be  done.  I  said  it  did  not  appear  an  easy  thing 
to  me  for  the  States  General  to  make  peace  without  the 
consent  of  Great  Britain.  But,  said  he,  they  can  if  they 
please  compel  that  consent.  I  do  not  see  how  they  could, 
but  I  did  not  press  the  conversation  on  that  point  any  fur 
ther.  I  told  him  I  had  heard  much  of  the  mediation  of 
Sweden  and  Denmark.  "Yes,"  said  he,  "and  you  Ameri 
cans  are  to  be  concerned  in  the  business  too."  I  told 
him,  that  on  Mr.  Jay's  first  arrival  in  England  there  had 


i794l  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  243 

been  a  report  of  his  being  employed  for  such  an  affair,  and 
that  since  his  signing  the  treaty  with  Lord  Grenville  it  had 
been  revived.  But  I  had  not  believed  it  then,  and  do  not 
believe  it  now.  He  said  that  there  certainly  had  been  some 
kind  of  proposals  made  to  Mr.  Jay  on  the  subject,  implying 
that  they  came  from  the  British  Ministry.  "But,"  added 
he,  "that  Ministry  have  in  reality  no  thoughts  of  peace; 
they  mean  to  amuse  and  delude  and  gain  time,  but  nothing 
more.  They  are  absolutely  bent  upon  another  campaign. 
They  will  pretend  to  enter  upon  negotiations  and  to  listen 
to  terms,  but  it  will  all  come  to  nothing.  The  Emperor  is, 
indeed,  extremely  desirous  of  peace,  but  he  will  not  make  it 
without  the  consent  of  Great  Britain.  He  will  therefore 
make  one  feeble,  ineffectual  campaign  more." 

As  this  conversation  was  neither  official  nor  confidential, 
you  will  justly  appreciate  the  dependence  to  be  placed  in  the 
opinion  thus  expressed.  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  give 
it  you  as  accurately  as  I  am  able,  especially  as  it  concerns  in 
some  measure  the  United  States  themselves. 

The  determination  of  the  British  Ministry  to  pursue  the 
war  is  now  public,  and  the  Orangists  again  begin  to  droop 
the  head,  and  speak  of  mediation  as  a  desirable  thing. 

I  am  not  of  the  opinion  of  the  gentleman  of  Portugal,  that 
peace  is  so  much  within  the  power  of  this  country;  they 
cannot  even  abandon  their  allies  and  become  their  enemies, 
without  extreme  danger  to  themselves.  Thirty  thousand 
British  troops  are  upon  their  territory;  though  unable  to 
resist  the  progress  of  the  enemy  they  are  amply  competent 
to  the  destruction  of  their  friends,  and  what  apprehensions 
arc  to  be  entertained  as  to  the  avowed  hostility  of  those  whose 
very  protection  is  dreaded  like  a  pestilence  ? 

The  magistracy  of  Amsterdam  notwithstanding  their 
severity  against  the  presenters  of  the  famous  petition  had 


244  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

come  to  a  resolution,  as  I  am  told,  not  to  admit  foreign  troops 
into  their  city.  A  few  days  since  a  body  of  1500  men  from 
the  English  army  appeared  before  Delft.  Their  presence 
was  so  much  deprecated  by  the  inhabitants  that  the  gates 
were  shut  against  them,  and  the  magistracy,  yielding  to  the 
popular  impulse,  resolved  that  they  should  not  be  admitted 
into  the  city.  The  Duke  of  York  has  been  expected  here 
since  yesterday  and  has  I  presume  arrived.  The  only  ground 
of  his  visit  that  I  have  heard  mentioned  is  that  he  comes  to 
complain  of  the  exclusion  given  to  his  troops  at  Delft,  and 
to  obtain  a  counter  order  and  satisfaction  in  this  respect. 
It  is  not  probable  that  the  force  of  the  popular  sentiment  will 
stand  against  the  uncontrolled  dominion  of  the  British 
influence.  .  .  . 

TO  JOHN  JAY 

THE  HAGUE,  December  2,  1794. 
DEAR  SIR: 

On  my  return  here  at  the  close  of  the  last  week  from 
Amsterdam  I  received  your  favor  of  the  24th  ultimo,  and 
request  you  to  accept  my  thanks  for  the  communications 
it  contains.  By  public  report  I  had  already  heard  not  only 
that  the  treaty  was  signed,1  but  the  pretended  purport  of 
many  articles  of  its  contents.  I  had  already  felt  myself 
obliged  to  leave  ardent  and  in  some  instances  inquisitive 
curiosity  in  the  same  suspense  in  which  I  had  found  it  upon 
this  subject.  Upon  the  state  of  the  negotiation  when  I  left 
London  I  could  give  our  friends  here  no  other  information 
than  what  resulted  from  public  report  in  that  place  from 
which  all  I  had  collected  was  that  the  affair  was  in  a  probable 
train  of  settlement.  Since  the  receipt  of  your  letter  I  have 

1  The  treaty  was  signed  November  19. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  245 

taken  the  liberty  to  mention  the  stipulation  which  you  ob 
serve  requires  not  to  be  kept  secret. 

The  desire  of  peace  among  all  the  friends  and  supporters 
of  the  government  in  this  country  is  animated  to  the  highest 
degree  by  the  prevailing  opinion  of  an  irresistible  necessity. 
The  task  of  essentially  contributing  to  reconcile  opposing 
interests  to  preserve  dignity  from  humiliation  and  to  har 
monize  discordant  circumstances  is  in  the  public  opinion 
once  more  assigned  to  the  same  person  who  in  that  opinion 
has  recently  performed  it  with  so  much  ability.  The  hopes 
which  have  been  indulged  in  this  particular  are  at  this  mo 
ment  however  restrained  by  the  general  idea  that  an  allied 
government  is  irrevocably  determined  upon  the  experiment 
of  another  campaign. 

I  have  been  informed  since  my  return  from  Amsterdam 
that  Mr.  Voltravers  is  gone  to  England.  He  made  similar 
application  to  that  mentioned  in  your  letter  to  me  for  which 
he  assigned  the  same  reason.  I  told  him  that  such  an  ap 
pointment  from  me  would  certainly  afford  him  no  protec 
tion  in  England,  and  even  if  it  could,  a  compliance  with  his 
request  on  my  part  was  inconsistent  with  my  ideas  of  pro 
priety. 

I  received  this  day  from  Amsterdam  a  Baltimore  news 
paper  of  3Oth  September.  It  contains  no  intelligence  of 
consequence. 

The  armies  in  this  country  do  not  at  present  appear  to  be 
very  active.  The  Duke  of  York  is  here.  There  appears  to 
be  some  difficulty  about  the  reception  of  British  troops  into 
the  cities.  It  is  said  the  magistracy  of  Amsterdam  have 
taken  a  resolution  against  the  measure  as  it  respects  that 
capital. 

I  am  with  every  sentiment  of  respect  and  attachment, 
Dear  Sir,  your  very  humble  and  obedient  servant. 


246  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  December  3,  1794. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  inclose  herewith  a  letter  from  Mr.  Dumas,  which  he 
requested  me  to  transmit.  The  old  gentleman's  health 
appears  to  be  very  good,  and  he  looks  not  older  than  he  did 
when  you  saw  him  last.  But  oppression  has  had  its  pro- 
verbid  effect  upon  him,  and  he  can  write,  think,  nor  talk 
about  anything  but  representative  democracy  and  Joel 
Barlow. 

Last  week  at  Leyden  I  saw  our  old  friend  Professor  Luzac,1 
who  is  at  this  time  Rector  Magnificus  of  the  University. 
He  received  us  with  great  cordiality,  and  I  found  him  in  his 
political  sentiments  moderate  and  rational.  The  instance 
is  rare,  and  accordingly  he  suits  neither  of  the  parties  in 
this  country.  The  "Tories  call  him  Whig,  and  Whigs  a 
Tory,"  because  he  neither  wishes  to  be  the  slave  of  the  ruling 
power,  nor  to  see  his  country  liberated  by  means  of  being 
conquered. 

There  has  been  much  talk  about  peace,  sometimes  with, 
sometimes  without  mediation.  One  day  Sweden  and  Den 
mark  are  to  be  joint  mediators,  the  next  the  United  States 
alone  are  to  perform  that  part.  This  moment  we  are  told 
the  Baron  de  Stael  has  left  Stockholm,  and  the  moment  after 
we  find  it  is  Mr.  Jay  who  has  gone  from  London  to  Paris. 
Amidst  all  these  reports  there  is  no  real  prospect  of  peace 
whatever. 

If  the  affairs  of  this  country  had  not  been  so  often  re 
trieved  from  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice,  I  should  think 
them  at  this  moment  absolutely  desperate.  They  all  think 
them  so,  and  Mr.  Fagel,  the  greffier,  has  been  at  London 

1  John  Luzac. 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  247 

ever  since  I  arrived  here,  to  solicit  ineffectually  their  inex 
orable  ally  to  join  in  a  negotiation  for  peace. 

The  subserviency  of  these  people  to  the  will  of  Great 
Britain  is  not  at  this  time  altogether  voluntary.  They 
cannot  disencumber  themselves  of  their  protectors.  It  is 
their  misfortune  to  be  defended  by  thirty  thousand  allies, 
who  would  be  more  fatal  as  enemies  than  they  are  serviceable 
as  friends.  There  is  but  a  single  step  in  the  transition,  and 
from  the  conduct  of  the  British  troops,  one  would  imagine  they 
had  already  taken  it.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  how 
much  their  assistance  is  dreaded.  The  cities  shut  their  gates 
against  them,  all  ranksof  people  equally  detestand  shun  them  ; 
and,  with  what  justice  I  am  unable  to  say,  the  unpopularity  of 
the  commander  is  not  less  conspicuous  than  his  rank.  .  .  . 

The  British  Ambassador  here,  Lord  St.  Helen's,  alias  Fitz- 
herbert,1  did  not  return  my  visit  of  notification.  He  gave  an 
entertainment  yesterday,  intended  for  the  Duke  of  York,  who 
was  expected  here  but  did  not  come.  The  Court  of  the  Stadt- 
holdcr  assisted  at  this  entertainment.  The  Ambassador 
sent  me  an  invitation.  I  sent  him  for  answer  that  I  was 
engaged,  as  was  really  the  fact.  I  shall  see  him  no  more. 

This  circumstance  is  in  itself  so  trivial  that  I  have  not 
mentioned  it  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  my  letter  of  yes 
terday  to  him.  I  do  not  wish  to  commence  a  diplomatic 
career  by  splitting  hairs  of  etiquette. 

Yet  I  am  desirous  that  the  circumstance  should  be  known 
to  Mr.  Randolph  and  to  the  President.  If  you  will  please 
communicate  it  to  the  former,  the  object  will  be  answered. 
I  am,  etc.2 

1  Alleyne  Fitzhcrbert,  Baron  St.  Helens  (1753-1839),  appointed  ambassador 
at  the  Hague,  March  25,  1794.  He  was  one  of  the  British  peace  commissioners  at 
Paris  in  1782. 

2"By  the  capture  of  Antwerp  a  difficulty  has  occurred,  upon  which  the  gentle 
men  at  Amsterdam  have  no  doubt  already  written  you.  The  annual  interest  of 


248  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  15  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

HAGUE,  December  22,  1794. 1 
DEAR  SIR:        ..... 

December  23.  I  this  morning  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Van  der 
Spiegel,  the  Councillor  Pensionary  of  Holland,  whom  I  have 
hitherto  not  been  able  to  see  on  account  of  his  sickness  part 
of  the  time  since  I  arrived,  and  having  twice  been  so  un 
fortunate  when  I  went  to  visit  him  as  to  find  him  so  much 
engaged  that  he  could  not  see  me.2 

the  loan  made  there  [in  December,  1791]  of  three  millions  of  florins  is,  by  the 
tenor  of  the  obligations  made  payable  at  the  compting  house  of  Mr.  De  Wolf,  and 
the  bankers  here  [at  Amsterdam]  have  annually  remitted  the  money  to  Ant 
werp  for  the  purpose.  As  the  circulation  of  assignats  is  compulsive,  the  Bra- 
banters,  holders  of  the  American  obligations,  are  apprehensive  of  receiving  their 
interest  in  that  currency,  and  our  bankers  have  not  transmitted  the  money  for  the 
interest  that  becomes  due  for  the  last  year.  It  may  be  added  that  many  of  their 
creditors  are  now  emigrants,  and  may  possibly  have  other  apprehensions  for  the 
fate  of  this  principal  as  well  as  of  the  interest.  One  of  these  called  upon  me  at 
Amsterdam  last  week  to  enquire  whether  I  could  give  him  any  relief.  I  told  him 
that  I  had  neither  instructions  nor  power  relating  to  that  loan,  but  would  readily 
transmit  any  representation  he  wished  to  make ;  and  I  did  not  doubt  but  the  United 
States  would  do  their  creditors  full  justice.  He  said  an  expedient  had  already  been 
adopted  by  the  court  of  Denmark  upon  the  same  occasion,  which  had  been  satis 
factory  to  their  creditors  in  their  Brabant  loans,  and  which,  if  equally  adopted  by 
the  United  States,  would  very  much  accommodate  him  and  many  others  in  the  same 
predicament.  It  was  to  declare  that  the  holders  of  their  obligations  might  receive 
their  interest  at  Copenhagen  instead  of  Antwerp,  and  that  they  might  exchange 
the  obligations  themselves  for  others  bearing  the  same  interest."  To  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  [Alexander  Hamilton],  December  5,  1794.  Ms. 

1  On  December  n,  he  removed  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Jehn,  Hoffstraat. 

2  Van  der  Spiegel  had  been  active  in  effecting  the  revolution  of  1787,  and  was 
rewarded  by  the  office  he  now  held.     He  was  a  "man  of  letters  and  talents,  raised 
(according  to  the  language  which  has  hitherto  been  fashionable  even  in  this  coun 
try)  from  an  humble  origin  to  consideration  and  eminence ;  but  elevated  by  the 
Stadtholder's  victory  to  the  most  important  elective  office  of  the  union."      To 
Secretary  of  Stale,  February  5,  1795.     Ms. 


1794]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  249 

I  told  him  I  had  some  time  since  presented  a  memorial  to 
their  High  Mightinesses  upon  the  subject  of  an  American 
vessel  captured  by  a  privateer  with  a  Dutch  Commission, 
carried  into  the  Island  of  St.  Martin's,  and  her  cargo  there 
condemned  by  the  Court  of  Admiralty.1  That  I  knew  not 
what  had  been  done  with  my  memorial  but  took  the  liberty 
to  solicit  his  attention  to  it.  He  appeared  not  to  know  any 
thing  of  my  memorial,  and  said  it  had  probably  been  referred 
to  the  Council  of  the  Colonies,  that  he  could  not  conceive 
how  they  should  take  an  American  vessel  at  St.  Martin's, 
between  which  and  the  United  States  there  was  a  commerce, 
and  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  obtain  information  on  the 
subject.  I  told  him  that  in  my  memorial  I  had  stated  that 
documents  to  prove  the  facts  were  in  my  possession,  to 
which  he  made  no  reply. 

He  asked  me  if  I  had  heard  anything  from  America  of  a 
discontent  (mecontentement)  among  the  negroes  of  Demarara. 
I  answered  I  had  not,  but  mentioned  the  state  of  health 
existing  both  in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  testified  by 
your  letter  of  November  8.  He  said  he  had  no  letters  from 
America  of  later  date  than  September.  That  the  news 
from  England  by  yesterday's  post  mentioned  as  a  mere 
rumor  these  movements  of  Demarara,  but  he  presumed  had 
there  been  any  foundation  for  the  report,  it  would  have  made 
its  way  from  other  quarters. 

I  observed  that  many  persons  concerned  in  the  naviga- 

1  The  Wilmington  Packet,  Moses  Andrews,  master,  and  the  property  of  Jeremiah 
Condy  and  Company  of  Charleston,  S.C.  She  sailed  from  Bordeaux  in  July,  1793, 
for  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  and  was  captured,  September  6,  by  the  Elynda, 
a  privateer  schooner,  William  Palmer,  master,  and  belonging  to  Jean  Baptista 
Francois  de  Bragclongne,  of  the  island  of  St.  Martins.  The  discussion  extended 
over  some  years,  and  owing  to  the  changes  in  the  government  and  the  doubtful 
situation  of  the  Dutch  colonies,  remained  undetermined  when  Adams  left  the 
Hague  in  1797. 


250  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

tion  and  commerce  between  this  country  and  the  United 
States  had  complained  to  me  that  it  was  subjected  to  re 
strictions  which  were  extremely  inconvenient,  that  a  regu 
lation  prescribing  the  passage  north  about  to  American 
vessels,  and  requiring  bonds  of  treble  the  value  of  goods 
shipped,  conditioned  that  they  shall  be  landed  at  the  place 
for  which  they  are  cleared,  and  an  express  declaration  that 
capture  by  the  French  shall  not  be  understood  to  be  an  ex 
emption  from  the  penalty,  was  equivalent  at  this  season 
to  a  complete  prohibition.  That  I  had  known  lately  an 
instance  of  an  American  vessel  obliged  to  go  home  in  ballast 
in  consequence  of  these  regulations,  and  had  reason  to 
suppose  others  in  the  same  predicament ;  that  as  the  inter 
ests  of  the  United  States  were  concerned  in  the  freedom  of 
the  navigation  of  their  citizens,  I  felt  myself  obliged  to  make 
these  observations  to  him. 

He  said  that  "as  to  navigation  at  the  present  season  the 
severity  of  the  weather  was  such  as  to  occasion  for  some 
time  an  obstruction  to  it  almost  total.  That  the  regula 
tions  I  mentioned  were  common  to  all  nations;"  and,  said 
he,  "our  own  subjects  are  also  bound  by  them.  They  had 
been  adopted  because  experience  had  shown  that  vessels 
going  through  the  channel  could  easily  either  slip  into  some 
of  the  ports  of  France,  or  cause  themselves  to  be  taken.  That 
as  experience  had  proved  the  necessity  of  some  regulation, 
some  of  the  merchants  of  Amsterdam  had  proposed  that 
of  going  the  northern  passage,  and  the  gentlemen  surely 
could  not  complain  of  the  effect  of  their  own  measure."  I  re 
plied  that  any  consent  given  by  particular  merchants  of 
Amsterdam  could  not  at  any  rate  be  a  support  to  the  regu 
lation  at  present,  when  the  season  rendered  the  passage 
north  about  almost  impossible,  and  was  doubtless  confined 
to  that  part  of  the  year  when  that  passage  is  convenient 


i794l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  251 

or  practicable.  He  said  it  was  not  a  consent  of  the  gentle 
men  but  their  own  proposal,  and  if  they  were  not  satisfied 
with  the  effect  of  their  own  measure,  they  might  address 
themselves. 

He  inquired  of  me  whether  I  knew  if  General  Eustace 
was  yet  gone  ?  I  answered  he  was.  He  said  that  his  con 
duct  here  was  very  suspicious.  That  he  wore  a  French 
uniform,  that  he  saw  very  suspicious  persons  here ;  that 
as  he  declared  he  had  left  the  French  service  in  compliance 
with  the  requisition  of  American  neutrality,  some  regard 
had  been  shown  him  in  that  consideration,  which  he  did  not 
deserve  in  any  other.  I  said  nothing  on  this  subject. 

I  then  told  him  I  had  instructions  relative  to  a  difficulty 
which  had  been  made  against  the  admission  of  a  consul 
from  the  United  States  in  one  of  the  West  India  Islands 
belonging  to  this  Republic.  He  said  the  Colonies  had  no 
free  commerce.  That  by  their  old  and  original  Constitu 
tion  no  foreign  nation  whatever  could  carry  on  any  trade 
with  them ;  that  as  there  could  be  no  foreign  legitimate 
commerce  to  protect,  there  could  be  no  room  for  the  exer 
cise  of  consular  functions;  as  to  any  contraband  that  might 
be  carried  on,  a  consul  had  never  been  admitted  to  encour 
age  that. 

I  said  that  by  the  treaties  of  commerce  subsisting  between 
their  High  Mightinesses  and  the  United  States,  the  stipula 
tion  for  the  reciprocal  admission  of  consuls  was  without 
any  limitation,1  and  it  was  understood  by  the  government 
of  the  United  States  to  extend  as  well  to  the  ports  in  America 
as  elsewhere.  He  rejoined  that  it  was  only  meant  the  ports 
of  the  Republic  in  Europe.  That  it  was  an  ancient  difference 
(demele)  that  they  had  had  with  France,  who  had  always 
insisted  upon  having  consuls  in  their  East  India  colonies, 

1  Article  XXI  of  the  treaty  of  1782. 


252  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

but  which  she  had  never  obtained.  That  it  had  been  an 
invariable  rule  observed  with  respect  to  all  other  nations, 
and  was  founded  on  the  reason  he  had  mentioned,  that  as 
they  could  have  there  no  legal  commerce,  so  there  could  be 
no  occasion  for  the  functions  of  a  Consul. 

Such  was  the  substance  of  a  conversation  upon  which  I 
think  it  unnecessary  to  make  any  observations  except  to 
mention  the  reason  which  induced  me  to  speak  of  the  regula 
tion  requiring  bonds  as  above  mentioned,  and  also  that  upon 
which  I  said  nothing  in  reply  to  his  observations  respecting 
General  Eustace.  The  first  was  because  the  regulation, 
though  in  word  it  is  universal  in  its  application,  yet  from  the 
nature  of  things  its  operation  is,  if  not  exclusively,  at  least 
more  extensively  prejudicial  to  the  American  navigation 
than  to  any  other.  I  was  in  hopes  that  a  mere  statement 
of  the  circumstances  would  at  least  discover  his  dispositions 
as  to  an  alteration.  In  this  particular  I  was  not  disap 
pointed,  but  as  to  the  quality  of  the  dispositions  you  will 
form  an  accurate  opinion  of  them  from  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
conversation,  which  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  anticipate. 

As  to  his  reflections  upon  General  Eustace,  and  the  asser 
tion  that  they  had  dealt  with  him  more  tenderly  than  he 
deserved  out  of  deference  to  the  United  States,  I  could  not 
assent  to  what  he  said  conformably  to  my  opinion,  and  I 
could  not  dissent  without  making  myself  at  least  a  party  to 
the  cause  of  that  gentleman,  which  I  had  always  given  him 
to  understand  was  not  my  intention  without  orders  to 
justify  me. 

I  did  not  think  the  treatment  he  received  here  gave  this 
government  any  title  to  acknowledgments  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States.1 

One  of  their  citizens,  who  had  served  in  their  armies  in 

1  "Visit  to  Grand  Pensionary.     Began  well,  ended  ill."     Ms.     Diary. 


i794l  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  253 

a  respectable  station  and  attained  a  high  rank  in  those  of 
France  before  the  war  between  the  two  Republics,  and  which 
he  had  quitted  to  preserve  the  privileges  of  his  country's 
neutrality,  is  arrested,  has  a  guard  set  over  his  person  ;  his 
papers  are  seized,  sent  away  the  distance  of  twenty-five 
miles,  undergo  an  examination,  are  found  to  contain  nothing 
criminal  in  them,  upon  which  he  is  released.  The  liberty, 
the  property  of  an  American  citizen,  the  security  of  his 
dwelling  place,  the  intimacy  of  his  private  correspondence, 
all  are  violated,  without  any  sort  of  intimation  either  of  the 
design  or  of  the  execution  to  the  Minister  of  the  United 
States  here,  or  to  their  Vice  Consul  then  residing  at  the 
place  where  the  arrest  takes  place.  Nothing  is  found  upon 
him  even  sufficient  to  support  suspicion  already  roused. 
The  only  ground  of  the  proceeding  pretended  is  that  he 
wore  a  French  uniform,  and  saw  suspected  persons. 

I  could  see  nothing  in  this  transaction  that  merited  so 
much  as  my  approbation  in  the  capacity  of  my  country's 
representative. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  was  sensible  that  the  particular 
situation  of  this  government  at  the  moment,  surrounded 
by  foreign  and  filled  with  domestic  enemies,  afforded  some 
excuse  for  extraordinary  measures,  that  a  French  uniform 
publicly  worn  would  naturally  appear  to  the  jealous  con 
firmation  strong;  that  an  intimacy  with  persons  in  open 
and  avowed  aversion  to  the  ruling  power  (though  free  and 
reputable  citizens,  exempt  from  all  legal  pursuit,)  would 
give  some  plausibility  to  the  severities  of  fear,  and  that 
except  in  the  momentary  violence  offered  to  the  principles 
and  feelings  which  we  hold  dear,  no  material  injury  had 
eventually  been  suffered  by  the  individual.  That  the  in 
ternal  proceedings  of  one  government  ought  not  hastily  to 
be  arraigned  by  the  servant  of  another  nation,  and  that  no 


254  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1794 

interest  of  urgency  required  of  me  at  this  time  to  give  of 
fence.  I  therefore  thought  it  most  advisable  to  remain 
totally  silent  upon  the  subject,  and  if  I  am  to  say  anything 
to  them  about  it,  to  wait  for  the  instructions  of  the  Presi 
dent  and  your's,  Sir,  for  my  authority.  .  .  . 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  December  21,  1794. 

We  have  at  this  moment  a  rumor,  which  has  darted  like 
lightning  through  the  whole  Province  of  Holland,  and  which 
is  propagated  in  such  a  manner,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
but  it  is  indirectly  countenanced  by  the  Court.  It  is  that 
two  commissioners  are  appointed  to  proceed  immediately 
to  Paris  for  the  negotiation  of  a  peace,  and  Mr.  Brantzen,1 
the  former  ambassador  extraordinary  in  France,  and  Mr. 
Repelaer,  a  burgomaster  of  Dort,  are  named  as  the  persons. 
This  intelligence  is  probably  not  true,  .  .  .  because  it  is 
hardly  conceivable  that  Britain  should  consent  to  a  separate 
negotiation  on  the  part  of  this  country,  or  that  she  should 
join  in  a  general  negotiation  as  yet;  and  it  is  equally 
difficult  to  suppose  that  the  court  here,  that  is  the  governing 
power,  should  so  far  disencumber  itself  from  British  thral 
dom,  as  to  negotiate  separately  and  in  a  public  manner  for 
peace  without  their  consent.  .  .  . 

Among  the  difficulties  with  which  the  government  is 
compelled  to  struggle,  the  want  of  money  is  one  of  the  most 
important.  The  weight  of  taxation  with  which  these 
Provinces  are  burdened  in  ordinary  times  is  well  known  to 
you.  It  has  already  been  aggravated  to  the  extremity  of 

1  Gerard  Brantsen  (1735-1810)  had  been  ambassador  to  France,  1782-1787,  and 
again  held  the  same  appointment  after  1806. 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  255 

sufferance,  yet  the  public  treasury  is  empty.  The  public 
credit  of  course  is  proportionably  impaired.  The  obliga 
tions  of  the  Province  of  Holland,  which  you  have  always 
known  at  par,  and  generally  higher,  have  depreciated  to  55 
and  even  50  per  cent.  New  loans  have  been  attempted 
and  totally  failed.  The  dangerous  and  extreme  resource 
of  a  paper  currency  has  already  been  resorted  to,  and  an 
emission  of  five  millions  of  guilders  has  taken  place  to  supply 
the  impending  contingency  of  public  payments.  The  cir 
culation  of  this  paper,  it  is  said,  will  be  voluntary  as  to  the 
people  in  general,  and  compulsive  only  upon  the  persons  in 
office.  But  this  regulation  must  be  intended  only  to  facili 
tate  the  introduction  of  the  paper  to  the  public,  and  there  is 
little  reason  to  doubt  that  its  acceptance  in  all  payments  will 
be  enforced  very  soon  by  the  sanction  of  the  Law.  .  .  . 

I  perceive  that  the  Dutch  resident  at  Philadelphia  does 
not  write  to  his  constituents  so  frequently,  nor  give  them 
so  particular  accounts  of  American  affairs,  as  would  be  neces 
sary  to  give  them  entire  satisfaction.  If  he  is  well  disposed 
towards  our  country,  and  would  be  likely  to  make  a  just 
representation  of  things,  I  could  wish  he  had  some  friend 
who  should  in  a  delicate  manner  intimate  this  circumstance 
to  him.  It  would  certainly  render  him  a  service,  and  might 
be  useful  to  the  interests  of  the  United  States. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  17  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

HAGUE,  January  3,  1795. 

This  morning  the  Charge  des  affairs  of  Sardinia  l  paid  me  a 
visit,  and  appeared  to  be  exceedingly  fearful  of  the  events 

1  Italics  represent  what  was  written  in  cipher.     The  charge  was  M.  Plcnti. 


256  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

which  a  continuance  of  the  present  severe  weather  may 
produce.  He  said  the  Court  and  the  States,  he  understood, 
were  determined  not  to  move  from  hence  at  any  rate.  That 
the  ministers  of  Sweden  1  and  Denmark  2  were  resolved  not 
to  move,  and  those  of  the  belligerent  powers  were  in  an 
embarrassing  position,  as  their  departure  would  have  a  bad 
effect  upon  the  common  cause,  in  the  opinion  which  it 
would  spread  in  public  that  the  state  of  affairs  is  desperate, 
and  their  continuance  here  would  expose  them  to  be  treated 
as  enemies.  That  for  his  own  part  he  should  feel  very  much 
embarrassed  in  the  predicament  had  he  not  recently  re 
ceived  instruction  in  case  of  events  to  withdraw  to  Eng 
land.  That  the  Ministers  of  Sweden  and  Denmark  had  offered 
to  receive  and  protect  his  movables  that  he  could  not  carry  off, 
but  that  he  had  rather  lose  all,  than  give  an  alarm  by  trans 
porting  his  goods  from  his  home.  He  therefore  made  me  two 
proposals.  First,  that  if  I  wished  he  would  sell  me  his 
furniture  and  the  lease  of  his  house,  which  is  at  a  low  rent 
and  would  be  convenient  enough  for  me.  The  other,  that  I 
should  take  a  simulated  sale  of  them,  and  have  the  use  of  them, 
in  order  to  cover  the  property  ;  that  I  should  thereby  render  him 
a  most  important  service. 

Though  it  would  be  extremely  agreeable  to  me  to  perform 
any  good  office  for  one  of  my  diplomatic  brothers,  which  might 
tend  to  establish  a  claim  to  gratitude  towards  my  country,  yet 
I  cannot  conceive  myself  justified  in  any  departure  from  the 
obligations  of  the  severest  neutrality  for  that  purpose. 

Upon  the  second  proposal,  therefore,  I  could  not  hesitate 
a  moment  in  forming  my  determination. 

As  to  the  other,  which  would  at  the  same  time  suit  my 
own  convenience,  and  comply  with  his  wishes  without  in 
fringing  in  the  minutest  particular  upon  the  rights  of  others, 

1  Comte  dc  Lowenhielm.  *  Schubart. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  257 

I  told  him  I  would  think  of  it,  and  give  him  my  answer 
to-morrow  morning. 

Upon  reflection  however  I  have  concluded  to  reject  theivhole, 
because  if  the  events  apprehended  by  him  should  really 
take  place,  I  feel  the  importance  of  establishing  the  most 
unequivocal  claim  to  all  the  regard,  which  the  laws  of 
nations  in  similar  cases  attribute  to  the  character  which 
I  bear.  American  property  to  a  large  amount  has  already 
been  put  under  my  immediate  protection,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  I  may  be  under  the  necessity  of  using  my 
exertions  for  the  indemnity  of  much  more.  In  order  to 
retain  in  full  perfection  all  the  rightful  means  in  my  power 
to  serve  my  own  fellow  citizens,  if  the  occasion  should  require 
it,  I  see  the  necessity  not  only  of  avoiding  every  act  but 
every  cause  of  suspicion  l  that  might  tend  to  impair  them. 
The  measure,  though  perfectly  innocent,  would  probably 
be  observed,  and  might  at  least  occasion  doubts  and  jealous 
ies  which  would  weaken  the  confidence  upon  which  the  full 
possession  of  my  neutral  privileges  may  depend. 

These  are  only  two  among  a  considerable  number  of  appli 
cations  which  are  frequently  made  to  me  on  either  side  of 
the  warring  parties,  and  wherein  I  find  myself  obliged  to 
refuse  what  is  asked  of  me  as  a  favor.  It  is  a  disagreeable 
task  to  refuse  offices  of  kindness,  but  I  find  it  not  less 
necessary  than  unpleasant. 

It  seems  from  the  conversation  which  I  have  just  related, 
that  the  Swedish  and  Danish  Ministers  offer  without  scruple 
to  cover  property  liable  to  the  laws  of  war,  nor  do  they  think 
[it]  necessary  to  be  secret  in  pursuing  this  conduct.  It  will 
no  doubt  give  them  opportunities  to  render  most  essential  ser 
vices,  and  may  entitle  them  to  gratitude  which  is  a  good  in 
strument  in  the  hands  of  a  negotiator. 

1  Not  in  cipher. 


258  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

I,  too,  by  this  singular  concurrence  of  circumstances  have 
this  advantage  in  my  power,  and  have  no  doubt  but  I  might 
easily  make  myself  very  busy  in  the  use  of  it.  It  might  be 
useful ;  I  will  not  say  it  would  be  unjust.  It  is  not,  I  think, 
expedient.  I  have,  etc. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF  STATE 

No.  1 8  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

HAGUE,  January  7,  1795. 

In  the  meantime  some  feeble  hopes  of  relief  are  still  en 
tertained  from  the  event  of  their  negotiations  at  Paris.  It 
is  very  questionable  whether  the  authority  of  their  Commis 
sioners  extends  to  the  terms  which  it  may  be  expected  will 
be  required,  and  which  it  should  seem  the  Convention  are 
now  in  a  situation  to  dictate.  They  seem  here  to  have  made 
up  their  minds  for  an  abandonment  of  the  British  alliance, 
and  there  will  be  probably  no  difficulty  in  that  particular. 
But  whether  they  are  yet  prepared  to  substitute  the  French 
alliance  in  its  stead,  and  to  go  to  war  with  those  who  are  now 
defending  them ;  whether  this  measure  will  not  be  required 
as  an  indispensable  condition  to  the  accommodation,  remains 
a  problem  still  to  be  solved.  There  is  indeed  one  uncer 
tainty  more  which  is  really  the  greatest  anxiety  of  the  Court 
party,  though  they  do  not  mention  it. 

They  are  fearful  that  conditions  specially  unfavorable  to 
the  authority  of  the  House  of  Orange  will  be  required,  con 
ditions  to  which  they  are  determined  not  to  consent,  because 
it  would  only  confine  to  them  the  ruin,  which  at  the  worst 
they  suppose  will  be  general,  and  this  is  a  species  of  devo 
tion  to  which  they  are  not  inclined. 

In  the  meantime  the  business  of  which  I  wrote  you  in 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  259 

my  No.  1 1  is  still  transacting.  The  two  persons  l  I  therein 
mentioned  were  at  Paris  before  the  Commissioners  Brantzen 
and  Repelaer.  They  obtained  passports,  their  errands  being 
known,  and  those  who  sent  them  yet  hope  their  success. 

It  may  be  concluded  from  these  circumstances  that  the 
destiny  of  this  country  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  French 
Convention.  With  a  public  commission  in  behalf  of  the 
present  ruling  power,  and  a  secret  one  treating  for  the  Patriots, 
they  may  chuse  according  to  their  ideas  of  their  own  interest, 
and  close  with  those  who  offer  the  best  terms. 

In  considering  that  the  real  interest  of  France  must  be 
effectually  to  detach  this  Republic  from  the  alliance  with 
Britain,  it  cannot  escape  reflection  that  her  strongest  se 
curity  will  consist  in  a  Revolution,  at  least  partial,  in  the 
government. 

The  negotiation  of  the  moment  is  avowedly  the  effect  of 
necessity,  and  it  is  not  even  pretended  by  those  who  conduct 
it  that  it  is  accompanied  with  a  sincere  desire  of  returning 
friendship.  To  the  whole  party  France  is  an  object  of  de 
testation  and  Britain  of  reverence,  which  no  generosity 
can  remove,  which  no  violence  and  ill  treatment  can  cancel. 
This  truth  cannot  be  more  forcibly  demonstrated  than  by 
the  temper  which  evidently  prevails.  For  while  the  moment 
of  impending  ruin  extorts  a  cry  for  mercy,  the  determination 
to  repay  it  with  ingratitude  is  not  denied,  and  cannot  be 

1  See  p.  254,  supra.  Italics  represent  cipher.  Monroe  has  outlined  the  offers 
made  to  the  Convention  by  these  Dutch  agents.  Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II. 
188.  The  mission  of  Brantsen  was  undertaken  too  late.  It  demanded  the  resti 
tution  of  what  had  been  conquered,  and  the  withdrawal  of  both  the  French  and  the 
allied  armies  and  the  neutrality  of  Holland.  In  return  the  sovereignty  and  inde 
pendence  of  France  would  be  recognized.  France  desired  a  treaty  of  alliance,  and 
to  this  the  commissioners  would  not  consent.  The  "patriots"  of  Holland  sent  to 
Paris  as  their  representatives  Blauw  and  Irhoven  van  Dam,  and  set  up  a  claim  for 
recognition  as  against  Brantsen  and  offered  full  submission  to  France. 


26o  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

concealed.  On  the  other  hand,  by  changing  the  possessors 
of  the  administrative  power,  France  will  have  in  these 
Provinces  a  zealous  and  affectionate  ally,  bound  to  her  by 
the  same  ties  which  now  attach  them  so  inseparably  to  her 
rival.  The  system  of  policy  adverse  to  the  power  of  the 
Stadtholder  was  for  this  reason  always  pursued  by  France 
under  the  Monarchy,  and  one  would  expect  it  to  be  renewed 
with  more  powerful  energy,  now  that  the  ardent  spirit  of 
congenial  liberty  is  superadded  to  all  the  original  motives 
that  supported  it. 

From  the  delays  which  were  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  Com 
missioners  on  their  route  to  Paris,  and  the  absolute  refusal 
of  an  armistice,  nothing  auspicious  to  the  government  which 
employs  them  can  be  drawn.  The  partizans  of  the  Court 
therefore  fear  much  for  the  event.  But  they  are  not  with 
out  hopes  arising  from  another  source.  They  flatter  them 
selves  that  the  moderate  party,  which  still  retains  the  as 
cendancy  in  the  National  Convention,  are  disposed  to  tread 
back  the  steps  of  their  own  Revolution  further  than  they  yet 
venture  to  avow;  that  the  day  of  French  Republicanism  is 
really  past ;  that  the  night  of  their  former  government  is 
rapidly  returning,  and  that  the  principles  of  counter  revolu 
tion  will  operate  efficaciously,  though  in  secret,  to  save  the 
existing  Government  of  this  country  from  ruin.  .  .  . 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  20  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

AMSTERDAM,  January  I9th,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

In  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  American  bankers 
I  came  yesterday  to  this  place,  and  arrived  just  at  the  mo 
ment  when  symptoms  began  to  appear  of  a  popular  fer- 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  261 

mentation,  which  still  continues,  and  of  which  it  is  impossible 
to  foresee  the  result.1 

On  Saturday  the  i/th  the  French  troops  entered  and  took 
possession  of  Utrecht  by  virtue  of  a  capitulation.  The 
usual  government  is  preserved,  and  the  prisons  were  pre 
vented  from  being  thrown  open. 

Yesterday  morning  a  flag  arrived  here  with  a  letter  from 
General  Daendels  2  to  General  Golofkin,  the  commander  of 
the  garrison  in  this  city,  commanding  him  and  the  garrison 
to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  evacuate  the  place.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  by  way  of  explanation  to  this  order,  that  the  garri 
son  consists  altogether  of  troops  who  have  already  been 
made  prisoners  of  war  by  the  French,  and  have  stipulated 
not  to  serve  against  them  during  the  war. 

At  about  noon  a  deputation  from  the  former  citizen  militia, 
who  were  disarmed  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution  in  1787, 
made  application  to  the  magistrates  of  the  city,  demanding 
the  restoration  of  their  arms,  promising,  if  they  were  satis 
fied  in  this  demand,  to  maintain  the  tranquility  of  the 
city. 

At  about  four  in  the  afternoon  an  officer  from  the  French 
army  named  Krayenhoff  3  came  with  a  flag  and  exhibited 

1  At  the  request  of  the  American  bankers  in  Amsterdam  Adams  went  to  that 
place  on  January  18.     He  left  The  Hague  in  the  morning  and  reached  Amsterdam 
at  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  "found  it  a  moment  of  crisis." 

2  Hermann  \Vilhelm  Daendels  (1762-1818)  was  a  major  in  the  brigade  of  Gueldre 
in  1787,  and  found  refuge  in  France,  where  he  became  lieutenant-colonel  in  a  foreign 
legion  under  Dumouriez.     He  was  promoted  and  served  as  a  general  of  a  division 
in  the  army  of  the  North,  and  taking  part  with  Pichcgru  in  the  conquest  of  Holland, 
he  entered,  June,  1795,  the  service  of  the  Batavian  republic  as  lieutenant-general. 
He  took  part  in  the  campaigns  and  revolutions  of  that  country,  was  sent  (1807)  to 
the  Dutch  East  Indian  colonies  as  governor-general,  and,  recalled  by  Napoleon, 
shared  in  the  Russian  campaign.     See  Mendcls,  //.  W,  Daendels  (1890). 

3  Cornelis  Rodolf  Theodore  Krayenhoff  (1758-1840),  a    physician  and  political 
agitator.     He  attained  rank  in  the  French  army  as  a  superintendent  of  fortifica- 


262  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

a  commission  constituting  him  commander  of  the  city. 
He  is  himself  a  Batavian  and  went  from  this  city  a  short 
time  since.  A  criminal  prosecution  was  commenced  against 
him,  and  tomorrow  is  the  day  upon  which  he  was  to  appear 
before  the  Court  of  Schepens. 

His  demand  of  the  magistrates  was  the  abdication  of  their 
authority,  but,  as  I  am  not  yet  authentically  informed  of 
the  particulars,  I  shall  wait  for  more  certainty  to  communi 
cate  them. 

At  the  edge  of  the  evening  the  three-colored  cockades 
began  to  appear  in  the  streets.  The  night  was  noisy.  The 
song  of  the  Carmagnole  and  the  Marseillaise  hymn  resounded 
in  the  streets,  but  no  violence  was  attempted. 

8  o'clock  P.M.  The  day  has  passed  without  any  sinister 
accident.  At  about  10  this  morning  the  three-colored  flag 
was  displayed  upon  the  State  house.  A  provisional  munici 
pality  appointed  by  the  Batavian  Revolutionary  Com 
mittee  have  entered  upon  the  exercise  of  their  functions. 
They  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Regency,  thanking  them  for 
their  former  services,  and  informing  them  that  there  was  no 
further  occasion  for  them  in  future.  In  the  afternoon  they 
liberated  from  prison  Mr.  Visscher  and  the  other  persons 
confined  for  affairs  of  state.  The  tree  of  liberty  was  erected 
before  the  State  House.  The  national  cockade  has  become 
almost  universal.  The  orange  colored  one  however  is  still 
worn  by  the  former  garrison,  who  appear  to  be  continued 
upon  guard  and  patrole  as  usual.  The  Revolution  was 
operated  with  not  more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  French 
hussars  within  the  city.  It  is  not  even  certain  whether  a 
larger  body  has  yet  been  introduced. 

tions,  but  after  1813  he  returned  to  Holland,  accepted  the  rule  of  the  House  of 
Orange,  and  became  a  baron  and  a  lieutenant-general.  He  was  now  adjutant  gen 
eral  to  Daendels'  force. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  263 

Mr.  Nicholas  van  Staphorst  is  a  member  of  the  new  munic 
ipality,  and  is  expected  in  town  tomorrow. 

The  Stadtholder  with  his  family  and  court  left  the  Hague 
yesterday  at  about  ten  o'clock  and  embarked  at  Schevening; 
they  will  probably  go  to  England.1 

January  2Oth.  This  afternoon  General  Pichegru  with  a 
body  of  troops  amounting  to  two  or  three  thousand  men 
arrived  in  the  city.  The  Regency  of  Haerlem  has  also  been 
dismissed,  and  the  French  forces  arc  also  in  possession. 
They  are  likewise  at  Dort,  and  a  few  days  more  will  give 
them  complete  and  undisputed  possession  of  the  Province 
of  Holland.  I  have,  etc. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  21  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

AMSTERDAM,  January  22,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR: 

At  the  close  of  my  last  letter  I  mentioned  the  arrival  of 
General  Pichegru,  with  a  considerable  body  of  French  troops  ; 
at  the  same  time  came  five  Commissioners  of  the  Conven 
tion,  deputed  to  the  two  armies  of  the  North  and  of  Sambre 
and  Meuse.2  The  troops  are  quartered  upon  the  inhabitants. 
The  Commissioners  occupy  the  house  of  Mr.  Hope  who  has 
quitted  the  country.  The  General  is  quartered  upon  one 
of  the  wealthiest  partizans  of  the  former  government,  and 
every  house  in  the  city  is  ordered  to  receive  two  men  upon 
application. 

The  states  of  Holland  have  given  orders  to  all  their  of- 

1  See  Memoirs,  February  2,  1795. 

*  The  letter  to  the  Convention  announcing  the  occupation  of  Amsterdam  was 
signed  by  Representatives  Bellcgarde,  Gillet,  Lacoste,  and  Joubert.  Portiez  was 

+ko  4UtK 


264  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

ficers  and  commanders  to  make  no  further  resistance  against 
the  French  armies.  All  the  principal  cities  of  the  Province 
have  admitted  their  troops  upon  capitulation.  Hitherto 
no  disorders  have  taken  place,  no  massacres,  no  pillage,  not 
even  any  personal  insult  to  the  conspicuous  characters  of 
the  party  heretofore  dominant.  The  order  and  discipline 
of  the  troops  are  almost  without  an  exception.  In  short, 
at  this  moment,  it  is  scarcely  possible  for  us  who  are  spec 
tators  to  conceive  that  what  we  have  witnessed  is  in  reality 
the  complicated  transaction  of  a  foreign  conquest  and  an 
internal  revolution. 

As  the  property  belonging  to  the  United  States  and  their 
citizens  in  this  country  could  not  be  subject  to  the  terms  of 
a  capitulation,  I  thought  it  might  be  of  some  utility  to  see 
the  Commissaries,  and  give  them  notice  of  the  expectation 
that  the  neutral  privileges  of  American  property  will  at  all 
events  be  respected. 

I  accordingly  paid  them  a  visit  this  day,  and  was  received 
in  a  manner  perfectly  satisfactory.  The  interview  consisted 
principally  of  mutual  compliments  and  expressions  of  civility, 
which  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat,1  but  in  the  course  of  the 
conversation  I  told  them,  that  the  principles  they  had  ob 
served  in  the  midst  of  victory,  and  the  discipline  and 
regularity,  which  so  honorably  distinguished  the  French 
armies  now  in  this  country,  perhaps  rendered  useless  any 
observations  of  mine  upon  the  subject  of  property  belonging 
to  my  country  or  my  fellow  citizens.  That,  however,  as  a 
different  mode  of  warfare  might  have  been  pursued,  the 
duties  of  my  situation  rendered  it  proper  on  my  part  to 
assure  them  of  my  full  persuasion  that,  upon  any  contin 
gency  whatever,  all  the  American  citizens  and  property  here 
would  enjoy  all  the  protection  and  security  to  which  they 

1  See  the  Memoirs,  January  22,  1795. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  265 

are  entitled.  The  citizen  who  appeared  to  be  at  the  head 
of  the  deputation,  and  who  held  the  principal  conversation 
with  me  answered,  that  American  persons  and  property 
will  be  under  the  same  common  safeguard  with  those  be 
longing  to  this  nation,  of  the  principles  by  which  the  conduct 
of  the  French  people  is  dictated,  and  of  the  loyalty  and  regu 
larity  constantly  observed  by  the  French  armies.  That  the 
French  people  did  not  come  here  as  enemies  of  the  Dutch 
people,  nor  had  they  any  intention  of  offering  violence  to 
their  persons,  their  property,  or  their  opinions.  That  if  in 
the  course  of  circumstances  it  should  be  necessary  to  make 
any  exceptions,  the  Representatives  of  the  French  people 
would  certainly  make  the  strongest  representations  to  their 
constituents  in  behalf  of  those  whom  they  considered  as 
their  first  friends,  of  a  free  people  for  whom  they  had  the 
highest  regard  and  attachment. 

Notwithstanding  the  protection  extended  to  all  private 
property,  I  presume  that  in  consequence  of  the  present 
circumstances  the  natives  here  will  before  any  great  lapse 
of  time  be  subjected  to  burdens,  from  which  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  will  think  the  property  belonging  to  them 
within  the  Republic  entitled  to  an  exemption.  These  bur 
dens  may  appear  in  the  form  of  a  requisition  or  a  contribu 
tion,  and  perhaps  in  a  form  which  we  cannot  anticipate. 
The  Commissioners  enquired  if  I  knew  what  number  of 
vessels  and  what  other  property  of  our  citizens  there  is 
here.  I  answered  them,  I  did  not.  With  respect  to  the 
vessels  I  shall  take  measures  to  ascertain  it,  but  for  the 
rest,  I  am  confident  I  shall  not  be  informed  until  it  becomes 
a  subject  of  absolute  necessity,  in  order  to  save  the  property 
from  the  effect  of  an  established  regulation.  One  American 
citizen  and  one  English  consignee  of  several  others,  are  the 
only  persons  who  have  delivered  to  me  any  statements  of 


266  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

property,  for  which  they  demanded  the  protection  of  our 
neutrality,  and  I  find  the  other  merchants,  holders  of 
American  merchandise,  averse  to  any  communication  which 
they  think  is  not  yet  of  absolute  necessity.  .  .  -1 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  22  [EDMUND   RANDOLPH] 

AMSTERDAM,  January  24th,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

The  municipality,  or  to  speak  more  accurately  the  pro 
visional  Representatives  of  Amsterdam,  are  presided  [over]  by 
Mr.  Schimmelpenninck,2  an  eminent  lawyer,  with  whom  I  had 
formed  an  acquaintance  upon  my  first  arrival  in  this  city. 
He  is  a  man  of  fair  reputation  for  abilities  and  integrity, 

1  "  I  have  lately  been  informed  that  General  Eustace,  whose  adventure  in  this  coun 
try  has  been  mentioned  in  several  of  my  letters  to  you,  did  not  go  to  America,  but 
landed  in  France  and  returned  to  Paris.  From  a  variety  of  circumstances  I  am  led 
to  suspect  that  he  concerted  with  some  of  the  Patriots  here  the  measures  which  are 
now  carrying  into  execution.  I  have  little  doubt  but  that  he  was  disposed  to  make 
his  arrest  the  occasion  of  a  difference  between  the  government  to  which  I  was 
accredited  and  me.  In  this  disposition  several  of  the  Patriots,  then  under  the 
harrow,  but  now  in  power,  probably  concurred.  But  neither  the  ostensible  motives 
which  they  addressed  to  my  passions  and  my  docility  rather  than  my  understand 
ing,  nor  the  real  purpose  which  they  did  not  confide  to  me,  appeared  to  me  sufficient 
to  justify  measures  on  my  part  offensive  to  the  government  then  existing, 
to  whom  I  had  so  lately  been  sent,  with  assurances  of  friendship  from  that  of  my 
country.  I  therefore  did  not  interfere  at  all  in  the  affair  after  his  liberation." 
To  the  Secretary  of  State  [Randolph],  January  22,  1795.  Ms. 

i  2  Roger  Jean  Schimmelpenninck  (1761-1825)  was  a  deputy  in  the  first  National 
Assembly  of  the  Batavian  Republic.  In  1798  he  became  minister  and  later  am 
bassador  to  Paris,  and  to  London.  Raised  to  the  dignity  of  Grand  Pensionary,  he 
refused  the  appointment  of  life  president  of  the  corps  legislatif  under  Louis,  and 
when  Holland  was  annexed  to  the  French  Empire  he  became  a  count  and  senator. 
On  the  return  of  the  House  of  Orange  he  was  a  member  of  the  first  or  upper  house 
of  the  States  General. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  267 

both  parties  appear  to  consider  him  as  worthy  of  the  station 
in  which  he  is  placed. 

I  saw  him  accordingly  this  morning,  and  stated  to  him 
the  grounds  upon  which  I  wished  to  obtain  as  early  informa 
tion  as  possible  upon  their  future  intentions.  I  observed 
to  him  that  the  rumor  appeared  to  indicate  a  total  revolu 
tion  of  government,  of  Constitution,  and  of  principles  to 
commence  from  the  present  moment.  That  in  the  relation 
in  which  other  nations  stand  towards  this  the  knowledge 
of  their  further  views  becomes  a  subject  of  mutual  impor 
tance,  and  that  I  believed  it  to  be  customary  to  give  notice 
to  other  friendly  governments  of  such  great  changes  as 
that  which  is  taking  place. 

He  said  he  believed  that  the  substance  of  all  the  institu 
tions  whereby  the  government  has  hitherto  been  adminis 
tered  would  be  provisionally  retained  ;  that  by  proceeding 
otherwise  they  could  expect  nothing  but  anarchy.  That 
they  had  written  letters  to  all  the  cities  of  this  province 
requesting  their  new  regencies  to  appoint  deputies  to  meet 
together  at  the  Hague;  that  these  deputies  were  already 
appointed,  and  he  supposed  would  assemble  tomorrow. 
They  would  assume  all  the  functions  hitherto  performed  by 
the  States  of  Holland.  They  had  also  written  circular 
letters  to  all  the  other  provinces  requesting  them  to  pursue 
the  same  system  of  alteration.  That  as  soon  as  this  could 
be  effected  an  assembly  would  be  formed  consisting  of  depu 
ties  from  the  provincial  assemblies,  which  would  be  a  sub 
stitute  for  the  former  States  General.  That  officers  corre 
spondent  to  the  Pensionary  of  Holland  and  Grefficr  of  the 
States  General  would  be  appointed,  and  in  general  that  the 
mode  of  government  would  be  preserved  as  heretofore. 
But  that  as  the  titles  of  "High  and  Mighty,"  of  "Great  and 


268  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

Noble,"  and  the  like,  are  not  acceptable  at  the  present  day, 
these  Assemblies  would  be  known  under  more  civic  denomi 
nations.  Perhaps  they  would  be  called  the  "  Assembly  of 
the  United  Provinces/'  "The  Assembly  of  the  Province  of 
Holland,"  or  something  similar,  but  the  powers  would  still 
remain.  He  added,  that  he  had  yesterday  seen  and  con 
versed  with  the  representatives  of  the  French  people  upon 
this  subject.  That  they  entirely  concurred  in  the  opinion 
that  this  is  the  best  system  that  can  be  pursued  for  temporary 
arrangement,  and  had  promised  to  support  them  in  it.1 

He  assured  me  that  he  would  not  forget  the  intimation 
relative  to  the  notice  to  be  given  to  other  powers  of  the 
change  of  government  here,  and  I  requested  him  also  to 
bear  in  mind  that  the  credentials  of  ministers  to  and  from 
the  late  States  General  may  perhaps  be  so  far  affected  as 
to  require  renewal  or  change.  .  .  .2 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  23  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  February  1st,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

A  vessel  belonging  to  Mr.  Swanwick,3  bound  from  Phila 
delphia  to  Hamburg,  was  obliged  some  days  since  by  stress 
of  weather  to  put  into  the  Texel,  and  an  application  to  the 
representatives  of  the  French  people  became  necessary  to 
obtain  a  permission  for  the  captain  to  depart  and  proceed 
upon  his  voyage.  I  saw  them  accordingly  this  day,  and 
they  assure  me  that  the  necessary  orders  shall  immediately 
be  given,  requiring  only  for  their  justification  a  demand  in 
writing,  which  I  have  therefore  made. 

1  In  cipher.  2  January  31  Adams  returned  to  The  Hague. 

3  James  Swanwick.     It  was  the  Active,  William  Blair,  master. 


1795)  JOHN   QUINCY   ADAMS  269 

They  said  they  were  happy  to  have  the  ministers  of  the 
powers  in  friendship  with  France  as  witnesses  of  the  manner 
in  which  they  conducted  themselves  in  this  country.  I 
answered,  that  the  testimony  of  every  spectator  must  be 
honorable  to  them  in  the  highest  degree.  And  certainly 
their  conduct  has  been  not  merely  just  but  generous.  They 
have  not  only  promised  and  secured  respect  for  the  persons, 
property,  and  opinions  of  this  people,  but  they  have  done 
the  same  towards  the  individuals  even  of  the  other  nations 
at  war  with  them.  The  ministers  of  Great  Britain,  Spain, 
Prussia  and  Sardinia  left  this  place  upon  the  approach  of 
the  French  armies.  The  Spanish  Minister  had  his  horses 
taken  from  his  carriage  in  the  middle  of  the  road,  and  was 
left  thus  in  the  coach  on  his  way  through  the  province  of 
Guclderland.  This  depredation  was  committed  by  sol 
diers  of  an  allied  army. 

But  the  Portuguese  and  Russian  Ministers,1  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Prussian  Legation,2  who  remained  here, 
have  not  been  molested,  but  have  been  treated  with  polite 
ness  and  attention.  The  Russian  Minister,  desiring  to 
leave  the  country,  was  provided  with  a  passport  by  the 
representatives  of  the  people.  It  has  been  left  at  the  option 
of  the  others  to  withdraw  or  to  remain  at  their  pleasure,  and 
all  the  privileges  of  the  diplomatic  character  are  allowed 
them,  and  have  not  been  violated  by  any  of  the  troops.  .  .  . 

The  inveteracy  against  Great  Britain  appears  to  be  unani 
mous  among  them,  and  discovers  itself  upon  every  occasion. 
They  talk  of  making  a  descent  in  England,  as  of  a  thing 
decided  on,  and  most  of  them  are  ambitious  of  being  em 
ployed  in  the  expedition.  Their  hopes  of  success  are  founded 
upon  the  expectation  that  they  shall  have  only  to  contend 
with  such  warriors  as  they  have  found  in  the  British  troops 

1  Chevalier  d'Araujo  and  Count  de  Kalitcheff.  2  Baron  de  Bielfeld. 


270  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

upon  the  continent.  They  declare  universally  that  these 
troops  are  the  worst  of  all  the  allied  armies.  To  all  the 
others  they  render  full  justice,  most  especially  to  the  Aus- 
trians. 


TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY 

[ALEXANDER  HAMILTON] 

THE  HAGUE,  February  2d,  1795. 
SIR  : 

On  the  5th  of  December  last  I  had  the  honor  of  writing 
you  relative  to  the  loan  of  800,000  dollars,  which  has  been 
proposed,  and  to  the  interest  due  and  not  paid  upon  the 
Antwerp  loan. 

Since  that  time  a  total  revolution  has  taken  place  in  the 
political  state  of  this  country,  but  hitherto  without  operat 
ing  any  change  of  circumstances  favorable  to  the  success 
of  the  intended  loan.  The  shyness  and  timidity  of  wealth 
are  not  yet  removed,  and  the  numerous  recent  deficiencies 
of  payments  at  once  diminish  the  usual  quantity  of  super 
fluous  money,  and  shake  the  confidence  of  individuals  in  all 
public  engagements. 

The  interest  due  upon  the  loans  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
of  Poland,  of  Sweden  and  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company 
are  all  suspended.  The  province  of  Holland  itself  is  more 
than  insolvent,  and  the  only  securities  which  have  not  con 
siderably  depreciated  are  those  of  the  United  States. 

The  advices  from  Lisbon  upon  which  at  all  events  the 
opening  of  the  loan  is  to  depend,  have  not  been  received. 
The  bankers  have  repeatedly  urged  to  me,  and  they  have  also 
written  to  you,  Sir,  their  opinion  of  the  expediency  of  an 
unconditional  authority  to  take  advantage  of  any  favorable 
opportunity  which  may  present  itself.  They  say  that  from 


i795l  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  271 

the  nature  of  these  transactions  an  occasion  frequently 
occurs,  which  opens  for  a  few  days  an  avenue  to  the  object 
which  is  totally  barred  before  and  afterwards. 

They  have  written  to  Hamburg  to  make  inquiries  whether 
the  loan  could  be  made  there,  in  case  it  should  continue  to 
be  impracticable  in  this  country.  They  have  received 
orders  to  transmit  money  for  the  payment  of  the  interest 
due  upon  the  Antwerp  loan,  orders  which  it  has  hitherto 
been  impossible  for  them  to  execute.  At  the  time  when  the 
interest  became  due  the  communication  between  Amster 
dam  and  Antwerp  was  interrupted,  and  a  prohibition  of  the 
government  here  prevented  the  remittance.  The  inter 
course  is  now  perfectly  free,  but  Mr.  de  Wolf's  compting 
house  is  shut  up,  and  I  have  been  told  that  he  is  himself 
detained  as  an  hostage  to  secure  the  payment  of  a  contri 
bution  imposed  upon  the  city  of  Antwerp. 

Should  he  be  speedily  liberated  and  his  compting  house 
again  opened,  the  holders  of  the  Brabant  obligations  who 
arc  already  impatient  and  uneasy  will  become  clamorous 
unless  they  are  immediately  paid,  and  the  delay,  which  I 
fear  will  then  be  inevitable,  must  have  some  temporary 
effect  upon  our  credit. 

Whether  this  delay  in  the  case  supposed  shall  be  una 
voidable  or  not,  must  depend  upon  the  capacity  and  dispo 
sition  of  Mr.  de  Wolf  to  advance  the  money,  for  I  confess 
I  have  little  expectation  that  it  will  be  remitted  from  hence. 

In  a  conversation  which  I  had  a  few  days  since  with  Air. 
William  Willink  and  Mr.  Hubbard  they  informed  me,  that 
when  their  payments  of  this  month  and  of  March  shall  be 
made,  they  shall  be  in  advance  with  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment.  And  the  former  of  these  gentlemen  intimated  that 
in  case  Mr.  de  Wolf  should  be  liberated,  the  obligation  of 
making  advances  upon  his  loan  was  incumbent  upon  him, 


272  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i795 

as  those  upon  their  loans  would  be  a  sufficient  burden  upon 
them. 

This  circumstance  is  mentioned  in  order  to  warrant  an 
observation  which  becomes  indispensable.  It  is,  that  no  ex 
ertions  beyond  what  a  sense  of  duty  prescribes  are  to  be  ex 
pected  from  the  Amsterdam  gentlemen  to  secure  the  fulfill 
ment  of  our  stipulations  in  the  contract  made  at  Antwerp. 

It  was  also  hinted  that  even  in  case  there  should  be  funds 
in  possession  at  Amsterdam  sufficient  for  the  remittance,  the 
possibility  of  an  appropriation  to  other  than  the  intended 
purposes  of  the  money  after  its  reception  at  Antwerp  ought 
to  be  considered. 

The  character  of  the  house  at  Antwerp  is  altogether  un 
known  to  me.  The  suspicion  discovered  on  this  occasion 
may,  perhaps  without  injustice,  be  attributed  in  part  to 
motives  more  immediately  concerning  the  interest  of  the 
gentlemen  at  Amsterdam  than  those  of  the  United  States. 
But  in  the  revolutions  of  property  and  of  principles  which 
have  become  so  frequent  at  this  time,  the  inconvenience 
and  danger  of  multiplying  great  pecuniary  trusts  cannot 
escape  observation. 

These  trusts  are  necessarily  so  great,  and  at  the  same  time 
accompanied  with  so  little  real  responsibility,  that  it  is  to 
be  wished  the  United  States  may  seldom  have  occasion  in 
future  of  recurring  to  the  resource  of  European  loans. 

When  payments  of  the  principal  are  made  a  certain 
number  of  specific  obligations  are  usually  called  in  and 
cancelled.  An  instance  has  lately  occurred  in  which  the 
bankers  who  had  negotiated  a  loan  for  the  Danish  govern 
ment,  instead  of  cancelling  the  obligations  they  had  paid 
off,  issued  them  into  circulation  again,  and  by  this  infidelity 
have  loaded  their  employers  with  a  double  payment  of  the 
same  debt. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  273 

The  Emperor's  bankers  towards  the  close  of  the  last 
year,  advertised  in  the  public  papers  that  the  interest  pay 
able  on  the  then  ensuing  new  year's  day  would  be  paid  as 
usual.  By  a  subsequent  advertisement  they  gave  notice 
that  the  payments  would  be  suspended  for  want  of  remit 
tances.  In  the  interval  between  the  two  publications  they 
are  said  to  have  sold  out  all  the  obligations  upon  the  loan 
held  by  themselves. 

The  Swedish  bankers  at  Antwerp  have  paid  the  interests 
due  since  the  arrival  of  the  French  in  that  city  in  assignats, 
whether  by  order  of  their  government  or  otherwise,  I  am 
unable  to  say.  In  either  case  the  creditors  are  without 
remedy.  In  the  latter  the  Swedish  government  is  in  the 
same  situation. 

The  bankers  of  the  United  States  at  Amsterdam  are 
men  of  so  much  integrity  that  nothing  is  to  be  apprehended 
from  their  transactions  disgraceful  to  themselves,  or  deroga 
tory  to  the  honor  of  their  employers.  But  the  confidence 
which  is  safe  in  their  hands,  cannot  with  equal  security  be 
entrusted  to  a  variety  of  commercial  houses  in  different 
parts  of  Europe,  among  foreigners  not  amenable  to  our 
jurisdictions,  and  subject  to  no  other  control  than  their 
individual  fidelity. 

Upon  this  occasion  it  may  be  proper  to  suggest  to  consid 
eration  the  propriety  of  some  arrangements  to  ensure  the 
payments  of  interest  upon  the  Antwerp  loan  in  future, 
independent  of  any  gratuitous  exertions  at  Amsterdam. 
Great  confidence  maybe  reposed  in  the  dispositions  of  those 
gentlemen  to  maintain  the  credit  of  the  United  States  in 
their  own  city,  and  they  will  not  hesitate  in  case  of  necessity 
to  anticipate  from  their  own  chest  a  payment  of  interest, 
rather  than  suffer  a  failure  of  punctuality  in  the  performance 
of  stipulations  contracted  by  their  agency.  The  credit  of 


274  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

the  United  States  at  Antwerp  they  do  not  conceive  to  be  so 
much  within  their  department,  nor  of  primary  importance. 
It  has  nothing  to  expect  from  them  but  neutrality.  I  have 
the  honor,  etc. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  24  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

DEAR  SIR.  THE  HAGUE,  February  5,  1795. 

I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  citizen  Paulus,1 
President  of  the  Assembly  of  Provisional  Representatives  of 
the  people  of  Holland. 

By  the  notification,  a  copy  of  which  was  inclosed  with  my 
last  letter,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  President  of  the 
Assembly  takes  the  place  of  the  former  Councillor  Pension 
ary  as  to  his  relations  with  foreign  Ministers. 

He  spoke  of  the  revolution  which  had  just  taken  place 
and  of  the  moderation  and  humanity,  which  had  attended  it. 
I  observed  that  a  revolution,  conducted  through  with  the 
same  principles  and  conduct  which  had  hitherto  distinguished 
this,  would  exhibit  an  example  worthy  of  admiration  to  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  He  replied  that  the  national 
character,  which  was  in  general  free  from  rashness  and 
impetuosity,  would  still  continue  to  direct  a  sober  and 
regular  conduct;  that  justice  must  have  its  claims,  and  the 
crimes  which  have  for  seven  years  oppressed  and  persecuted 
the  Patriots  of  the  country,  will  meet  with  punishment, 
though  not  with  revenge. 

He  said  that  under  the  alteration  which  had  taken  place 
he  hoped  there  would  be  none  unfavorable  to  the  friendship 
subsisting  between  the  two  nations.  That  we  were  sister 

1  Peter  Paulus  (1754-1796).     See  Adams,  Memoirs,  February  5,  1795. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  275 

Republics,  and  as  the  number  of  such  sisters  is  very  small, 
they  had  a  particular  value  for  our  friendship.  That  I 
should  find  among  the  persons  now  engaged  in  public  affairs 
many  who  had  been  the  most  active  in  promoting  the 
acknowledgment  of  our  independence,  and  although  they 
were  now  proceeding  upon  a  system  altogether  different 
from  that  which  they  pursued  at  that  time,  yet  their  senti 
ments  and  dispositions  towards  us  were  still  the  same. 
That  he  had  it  expressly  in  charge  from  the  Assembly  to 
make  me  these  assurances,  and  to  add  that  they  were  resolved 
to  perform  l  religiously  the  obligations  of  their  treaties  with 
the  United  States,  and  were  disposed  even  to  contract  closer 
connections  with  them  if  they  are  so  inclined. 

I  told  him  that  relative  to  circumstances  which  had  so 
recently  occurred,  it  was  needless  for  me  to  observe  that  I 
could  have  no  orders  or  instructions  from  the  government 
of  the  United  States  to  express  their  sentiments,  but  I  could 
take  upon  myself  to  say,  that  the  assurance  of  a  continua 
tion  of  the  friendship  and  harmony  subsisting  between  the 
two  Republics  would  be  received  with  great  satisfaction, 
and  would  meet  with  the  return  of  a  similar  disposition. 

As  to  the  proposal  of  a  closer  connection  I  thought  best  not 
to  appear  to  have  noticed  it.  .  .  . 

The  communication  by  the  posts  is  opened  anew  with 
France,  but  has  not  yet  become  regular.  All  the  other 
external  posts  are  stopped,  and  the  dearth  of  intelligence  is 
consequently  great.  The  operation  of  the  late  events  here 
upon  the  policy  of  the  belligerent  powers  is  yet  unknown, 
nor  does  it  appear  whether  this  Republic  will  yet  be  per 
mitted  to  remain  in  peace. 

Should  this  be  the  case,  undoubtedly  the  direct  commerce 
of  the  United  States  to  this  country  will  become  very  advan- 

1  Words  in  italics  were  in  cipher. 


276  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

tageous,  and  will  be  more  considerable  than  it  has  ever  been 
hitherto.  But  in  case  of  a  new  war  it  will  depend  much  upon 
the  policy  pursued  elsewhere.  If  our  flag  is  respected,  if 
the  rights  of  our  neutrality  are  not  contested,  and  the  prac 
tise  of  plundering  one  nation  to  starve  another  is  disdained 
as  an  unworthy  mode  of  warfare,  our  merchants  will  have 
great  encouragement  to  pursue  the  commerce  which  is  now 
opening  here.  I  am  unwilling  to  make  a  contrary  supposi 
tion,  but  in  case  of  necessity  the  proposal  above  related  may 
deserve  particular  attention.1  .  .  . 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  February  12,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

Since  the  date  of  my  last  letter  (December  21,  1794,) 
a  revolution  has  taken  place,  the  substance  of  which  had 
been  for  some  time  expected,  but  the  forms  of  which  have 
been  infinitely  milder  than  had  ever  entered  the  imagination 
of  any  man.  The  French  army  of  the  North,  after  a  brill 
iant  and  successful  campaign  from  March  till  December, 
had  at  length  reached  the  banks  of  the  Waal,  and  was  for 
several  weeks  arrested  in  its  progress  by  the  natural  barriers 
which  at  all  times  have  constituted  the  most  important 
defence  of  these  provinces.  Just  at  that  period  a  succession 
of  weather  almost  without  example  both  in  point  of  severity 
and  of  duration  fastened  all  the  waters  of  the  country,  and 
while  it  constructed  a  safe  and  easy  passage  for  the  French 
Republicans  into  the  heart  of  Holland,  it  rendered  the  re 
source  of  inundations  impracticable  to  their  enemies.2 

1  In  cipher. 

*  "March  7,  1795.  The  Waters  have  been  shut  eleven  weeks.  Such  a  season 
is  unparalleled  in  the  memory  of  man.  The  severest  winters  in  the  course  of  the 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  277 

The  existing  government  of  this  Union  was  not  prepared 
for  an  event  like  this.  The  troops  of  the  Republic  capable 
of  opposing  the  march  of  the  enemy  were  already  reduced 
by  the  events  of  the  war  from  50,000  to  less  than  15,000  men. 
Of  their  allies  the  Austrians  gave  them  but  little  assistance, 
the  Prussians  none  at  all,  and  the  British  were  considered 
as  a  burthen  rather  than  a  defence. 

The  prevalence  of  British  councils  was  however  unim 
paired  in  the  cabinet.  It  had  been  proposed  as  early  as 
October  to  send  commissioners  to  Paris  to  negotiate  a  peace. 
A  consent  to  receive  them  had  already  then  been  obtained, 
but  the  compliance  of  the  British  government  with  the 
measure  was  thought  indispensable,  and  could  not  be 
obtained. 

It  is  presumed,  however,  that  it  was  finally  granted,  as 
the  measure  was  taken.  Two  Commissioners  were  dis 
patched  to  Paris,  but  their  authority  was  not  commensurate 
with  the  exigency  of  affairs.  The  speech  of  the  King  of 
Great  Britain  at  the  opening  of  his  Parliament  seems  to 
disapprove  the  step,  but  his  Ambassador  here  still  con 
tinued  his  legislative  functions,  and  two  commissioners  of 
the  French  Republic,  who  in  consequence  of  his  instructions 
had  been  kept  in  confinement  since  last  May,  were  not 
liberated  from  prison,  even  after  the  departure  of  the  deputies 
upon  their  pacific  mission. 

The  armistice  which  was  the  primary  object  of  their 
negotiation  could  not  be  obtained.  The  Waal  and  the 
Rhine  became  passable  upon  the  ice,  and  the  passage  of 
the  former  was  accordingly  effected  by  the  French.  On  the 
8th  of  January,  a  council  of  war  was  held  at  Utrecht,  con 
sisting  of  the  Austrian,  Hanoverian,  British  and  Dutch 

present  century  were  in  the  years  1709  and  1740;  but  neither  of  those  was  so  ex 
cessive  as  that  which  is  now  breaking  up."     Ms.     Diary. 


278  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

Generals,  and  the  British  Ambassador.  The  result  of  it 
was  one  more  effort  of  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  allies. 
The  actions  of  the  9th  and  loth  were  severe,  but  their 
issue  only  served  to  prove  the  insufficiency  of  the  allied 
forces  for  the  defence  of  this  country.  From  that  period 
they  gave  up  the  point,  and  have  since  then  been  employed 
in  executing  their  retreat  into  Germany.  The  Province  of 
Utrecht  capitulated,  and  the  French  troops  entered  the  city 
on  the  I yth. 

The  next  day  the  Stadtholder  and  his  family  left  the 
Hague,  and  embarked  in  fishing  boats  at  Schevening  for 
England.  He  had  previously  demanded  and  obtained  of  the 
States  General  the  dismission  of  his  two  sons  as  Generals 
in  the  service  of  the  Republic.  He  then  requested  and 
received  from  the  States  General  and  from  the  States  of 
Holland  leave  of  absence  for  an  indefinite  time,  and  declared 
his  intention  to  return  and  resume  the  functions  of  his 
offices  whenever  circumstances  may  permit,  and  testified 
his  regret  that  he  had  not  been  able  hitherto  to  serve  the 
Republic  more  effectually. 

The  plan  of  operations  at  Amsterdam,  the  execution  of 
which  had  no  doubt  been  previously  concerted  so  as  to  avoid 
the  appearance  of  a  conquest,  commenced  on  the  day  of  the 
Stadtholder's  departure  from  the  Hague. 

A  Dutch  officer  appeared  with  an  order  from  the  General 
of  the  Batavian  corps  in  the  French  service  to  the  Commander 
of  the  garrison  then  in  that  city,  directing  him  and  his  garri 
son  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  he  exhibited  to  the  Regency 
a  commission  constituting  him  Commandant  of  the  place. 
The  former  garrison  consisted  altogether  of  troops  who  had 
already  been  made  prisoners  of  war  by  the  French  upon  the 
frontiers,  and  had  stipulated  not  to  serve  against  them  during 
the  war.  The  Regency,  sensible  that  any  further  resistance 


i79sl  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  279 

to  defend  their  authority  could  end  only  in  their  total  de 
struction,  directed  the  then  commander  to  surrender  accord 
ing  to  the  summons,  and  received  the  Batavian  from  the 
French  army  as  commandant  of  the  city. 

About  thirty  French  hussars  were  then  introduced  within 
the  walls  who  took  their  station  before  the  Stadthouse  on  the 
morning  of  the  I9th,  the  three-colored  flag  was  hoisted  on 
that  building,  the  tree  of  liberty  was  erected  before  it,  and 
an  immense  crowd  of  people  had  collected  together  about  it.1 
A  revolutionary  committee,  consisting  of  ten  persons  self- 
constituted,  or  at  least  whose  origin  is  traced  no  further, 
appeared  in  front  of  the  house;  one  of  their  members  read 
to  the  people  there  assembled  a  list  of  twenty-one  names  of 
persons,  nominated  by  the  revolutionary  committee  to 
constitute  the  Assembly  of  Provisional  Representatives  of 
the  people  of  Amsterdam.  He  then  demanded  of  the  people, 
whether  they  approved  the  nomination,  and  was  answered 
by  a  general  shout  of  acquiescence.  From  that  moment  the 
Provisional  Representatives  deemed  themselves  vested  with 
the  whole  power  of  the  sovereign  people  of  Amsterdam  ; 
and  they  commenced  their  functions  by  sending  word  to 
the  former  Regency  that  the  people  had  no  further  occasion 
for  their  services. 

Since  that  time  they  have  distributed  their  accumulated 
powers  into  a  variety  of  committees,  for  instance,  of  Public 
Safety,  of  General  Vigilance,  of  Justice,  of  Finance,  and  of 
Trade  and  Navigation,  besides  constituting  a  mayor  to  super 
intend  the  police  of  the  city. 

1  "I  have  assisted  (by  invitation)  at  the  grand  fete  of  planting  the  new  liberty 
tree  this  day.  This  tree  is  a  painted  mast.  I  first  thought  the  allusion  was  quite 
lost,  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  mast  and  not  a  real  tree;  but  on  reflection  I  think  the 
allusion  more  complete,  as  I  can  almost  prove  it  will  not  grow.  On  manque  /' 'esprit 
de  la  chosf,  in  my  humble  opinion."  Syhanus  Bourne  to  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Amsterdam,  March  4,  1795.  Ms. 


280  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

In  all  the  other  cities  of  the  province  a  similar  revolution 
was  effected  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  In  all,  the  ancient 
regencies  either  did  in  fact,  or  by  a  revolutionary  fiction 
were  supposed  to  have  surrendered,  their  authority  into 
the  hands  of  the  people.  A  list  of  new  names  was  always 
ready  to  be  presented  for  acceptance,  in  order  to  substitute 
a  provisional  authority  correspondent  to  that  which  was 
annihilated,  and  where  the  approbation  of  the  audience  was 
not  testified  by  acclamations  their  silence  was  taken  for 
consent. 

While  this  operation  was  going  through  the  admission  of 
the  French  troops  was  also  taking  place.  The  internal 
revolution  at  Amsterdam  you  will  observe  was  effected  on 
the  1 9th  of  the  month.  The  next  day  the  General  of  the 
Army  l  and  the  Commissaries  of  the  National  Convention 
arrived,  and  were  received  as  friends.  The  latter  imme 
diately  published  a  proclamation  to  the  Batavian  people. 
They  declared  that  they  came  as  friends  and  allies ;  that 
they  would  respect  the  persons  the  property  and  the  opinions 
of  every  individual ;  that  the  independence  of  the  Batavian 
people  should  not  be  violated ;  that  in  the  exercise  of  its 
sovereignty  that  people  alone  should  reform  or  modify  the 
government,  and  that  all  excesses  between  the  inhabitants 
should  be  prevented. 

In  this  manner  was  a  total  revolution  of  the  sovereignty 
within  and  the  introduction  of  a  foreign  army  of  seventy 
thousand  men  effected  in  the  province,  within  the  course  of 
a  week,  without  blood,  without  violence,  and  almost  without 
tumult.  The  crisis  of  transition  lasted  but  a  day,  and  was 
attended  only  with  noise.  Since  then  the  usual  tranquility 
has  been  uninterrupted,  everything  about  us  has  the  same 
appearance  that  it  had  before,  excepting  that  instead  of 

1  Pichegru. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  281 

Orange  flags,  and  cockades,  and  pictures,  are  substituted 
French  soldiers,  the  three-colored  riband,  and  the  tree  of 
liberty. 

But  although  the  sovereign  of  the  ancient  constitution 
was  no  more,  its  deputations  constituting  the  States  of 
Holland  and  all  their  derivatives  yet  existed.  The  revolu 
tion  was  hitherto  confined  to  the  municipal  establishments, 
and  it  became  necessary  to  extend  it  to  the  provincial 
government.  The  fundamental  principle  of  the  new  system 
was  pursued  as  closely  as  could  be  without  great  incon 
venience.  The  new  municipal  regencies  in  the  several 
cities  deputed  from  each  of  their  own  bodies  three  or  four 
persons  to  meet  together  and  administer  the  government  of 
the  Province.  These  deputies  from  ten  or  twelve  cities 
(for  the  revolution  was  not  then  completed  in  all,)  assembled 
at  the  Hague,  on  the  26th  of  January.  They  took  pos 
sion  of  the  Hall  where  the  States  of  Holland  had  always 
held  their  sessions,  having  first  sent  word  to  the  Pensionary 
Van  de  Spiegel,  and  to  all  the  former  members  of  the 
equestrian  order,  that  none  of  them  would  be  admitted  to 
their  deliberations.  They  chose  Peter  Paulus  of  Rotterdam 
President  for  a  fortnight,  assumed  the  title  of  the  Assembly 
of  Provisional  Representatives  of  the  People  of  Holland, 
and  made  an  express  acknowledgment  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people,  and  the  rights  of  men  and  citizens.  They 
also  declared  that  as  an  immediate  consequence  from  these 
principles,  the  States  of  Holland  and  West  Friesland  con 
sisting  of  an  equestrian  order  and  voting  cities,  as  also  all 
hereditary  offices  of  Stadtholder,  Captain  and  Admiral- 
General,  were  annulled,  and  they  determined  that  the  votes 
in  their  Assembly  should  be  personal,  and  not  by  cities. 
They  abolished  also  the  Gecommitteerde  Raad,  and  divided 
their  functions  between  three  Committees  of  their  own 


282  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

body.1  They  recalled  all  the  members  of  the  Province  in 
the  Colleges  of  the  Generality,  and  appointed  three  of  their 
members  to  take  the  seat  of  the  Province  in  the  States 
General,2  and  hold  it  as  long  as  the  present  confederation 
shall  continue. 

The  example  of  this  Province  has  been  imitated  in  those 
of  Utrecht,  Guelders  and  Overyssel.  Zeeland  has  capitu 
lated,  and  as  soon  as  the  passage  is  opened  for  the  French 
troops  the  new  system  will  in  all  probability  be  adopted 
there. 

The  troops  of  their  friends  are  quartered  upon  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  cities.  The  discipline  of  the  army  is  rigorous 
and  well  observed.  The  only  complaint  I  have  heard  against 
it  is  its  being  too  severe.  The  examples  of  capital  punish 
ment,  which  have  been  inflicted  in  more  than  one  of  the 
cities  upon  soldiers  guilty  of  the  most  trifling  thefts,  are 
painful  to  a  people  among  whom  the  penalty  of  death  is 
very  seldom  executed,  and  reserved  for  the  most  enormous 
crimes. 

The  Pensionary  Van  de  Spiegel,3  the  Grand  Bailiff  of  the 
Hague,  Bentinck,4  the  deputy  Greffier  of  the  States  General, 
Lelyveldt,  two  brothers  of  the  Greffier  Fagel,  and  three 
members  of  the  Regency  of  Leyden,  are  under  arrest.  All 
the  members  of  the  Regencies  [are]  dismissed  and  forbidden 
upon  the  severest  penalties  to  go  out  of  the  Province.  Some 
of  them  are  held  to  be  responsible  for  considerable  deficien 
cies  in  the  public  Treasuries,  and  others  are  supposed  to  be 
liable  to  criminal  prosecutions. 

1  Public  safety,  war,  and  finance. 

2  The  three  were  Hahn,  secretary  of  the  University  of  Leyden,  Lestevenon, 
former  minister  to  Brussells,  and  Loncq. 

3  Laurent-Pierre  Van  de  Spiegel  (1737-1800).     He  was  not  released  until  1798 
and  then  joined  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

4  Comte  Bentinck  van  Rhoon. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  283 

When  the  revolution  shall  have  pervaded  the  seven 
Provinces  it  is  expected  that  a  Convention  will  be  chosen 
to  form  a  new  Constitution.  The  sovereignty  of  the  people, 
the  equality  of  individuals,  universal  suffrage,  a  single 
Assembly  and  Committees,  will  form  the  basis  of  the 
future  government. 

The  communication  with  foreign  countries  is  suspended, 
and  that  with  France  is  not  yet  fully  restored.  We  are 
therefore  in  a  great  measure  deprived  of  external  intelli 
gence. 

The  direct  commerce  with  the  United  States  will  I  hope 
be  soon  revived,  and  receive  greater  encouragements  than 
it  has  ever  yet  had.  Whatever  the  motives  of  the  former 
government  might  be,  it  is  certain  that  their  regulations 
were  very  unfavorable  to  the  navigation  of  our  country. 
The  friendly  dispositions  of  those  who  have  now  succeeded 
are  the  more  unequivocal,  because  they  rest  upon  the  foun 
dation  of  their  interest  and  even  of  their  necessities. 

Among  the  members  of  the  present  administrations  are 
many  of  your  former  friends.  The  President  of  the  Pro 
vincial  Assembly,  Mr.  Paulus,  particularly  requested  me  to 
present  you  the  testimony  of  his  remembrance.  Even 
the  cautious  aversion  of  Mr.  William  Willink  to  public 
employment  has  been  obliged  to  yield  to  the  exigency  of  the 
times.  He  is  upon  the  Committee  of  Finance  at  Amsterdam, 
and  reluctantly  submitted  to  the  established  regulation 
which  permits  no  man  to  decline  the  task  of  public  service 
assigned  to  him. 

The  apartments  of  the  Princess  of  Orange  are  occupied 
by  the  Commissaries  of  the  National  Convention,  who  are 
styled  the  Representatives  of  the  French  people.  They 
received  the  visit  from  the  Minister  of  the  United  States 
at  Amsterdam,  where  he  happened  to  be  at  the  time  of  their 


284  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

arrival.  They  assured  him  that  they  considered  it  alto 
gether  as  a  fraternal  visit,  and  expressed  themselves  in 
terms  of  the  utmost  civility  towards  the  United  States, 
their  President  and  Vice  President.  They  appear  to  be 
well  pleased  with  Mr.  Monroe,  but  as  to  his  predecessor,1 
they  spoke  of  him  too,  more  than  once. 

The  General  in  Chief  of  the  Northern  Army,  Pichegru, 
is  lodged  in  the  building  called  the  old  Court.  In  the 
course  of  three  years  he  has  risen  from  the  rank  of  a  sergeant 
of  artillery  to  that  in  which  he  now  appears,  and  in  which 
he  has  performed  a  campaign  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
Europe.  He  avoids  as  much  as  possible  every  appearance 
of  public  display ;  his  dispatches  to  the  Convention  are 
remarkable  for  the  modest  simplicity  with  which  he  relates 
the  most  important  successes,  and  he  appears  to  prefer 
conversing  upon  any  subject  rather  than  that  connected 
with  his  own  exploits. 

This  disposition  may  be  in  some  degree  the  result  of  a 
natural  temper,  but  it  may  be  partly  attributed  to  a  system 
taught  by  the  fatal  experience  of  so  many  preceding  Generals.2 

It  is  impossible  to  foresee  what  effect  the  events  herein 
related  will  produce  upon  the  system  of  Europe.  The  King 
of  Prussia  has  a  minister  at  Paris.  The  Imperial  Diet  has 
determined  upon  a  negotiation  for  peace.  The  people  of 
England  begin  to  be  impatient  for  the  same  object.  Spain 
is  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  and  all  Europe  is  exhausted 
and  tired  of  the  desolating  war  in  which  it  has  been  so  long 
involved.  But  the  perseverance  of  the  British  Ministry, 
concurring  with  the  inveteracy  of  the  French  nation,  will 
produce  one  campaign  more,  and  it  is  yet  uncertain  whether 

1  Gouverneur  Morris.     The  meetir.gs  with  the  French  Representatives  are  de 
scribed  at  greater  length  in  Adams,  Memoirs,  January  22  and  February  2,  1795- 

2  See  Adams,  Memoirs,  February  3,  1795. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  285 

this  Republic  will  be  permitted  to  remain  in  future  neutral, 
or  whether  it  is  only  taken  from  one  side  of  the  scales  to  be 
thrown  into  the  other.  If  she  ceases  to  be  a  belligerent 
power,  her  present  situation  will  open  a  very  advantageous 
commerce  to  American  enterprise.  If  she  only  changes 
sides  in  the  war,  an  equally  promising  source  of  speculation 
will  be  opened,  but  will  then  depend  partly  upon  the  justice 
of  another  maritime  power.  The  treaty  signed  on  the 
I9th  of  November  last  must  before  this  have  been  the  sub 
ject  of  discussion  and  of  decision  in  America.  Whether 
ratified  or  not,  many  important  points  and  sources  of  dif 
ference  will  remain  undecided.  At  present  it  is  more  than  ever 
the  interest  of  the  island  to  avoid  a  serious  misunderstand 
ing  with  the  United  States  ;  they  on  their  part  stand  upon 
advantageous  ground  to  resent  any  violation  of  their  neutral 
rights.  The  present  state  of  affairs  will  make  their  reclama 
tions  for  entire  justice  compatible  with  prudence,  and  if  it 
should  be  denied,  the  means  of  increasing  their  federative 
strength  will  perhaps  be  in  their  hands. 
I  am,  my  Dear  Sir,  &c. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  25  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  February  15,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

In  the  Supplement  to  the  last  Leyden  Gazette  is  contained 
the  address  delivered  by  the  Batavian  Deputies  to  the 
National  Convention.  The  mask  is  no  longer  necessary. 
These  are  the  persons  mentioned  in  my  letters  Nos.  n  and 
18.  They  assume  publicly  the  character  of  Deputies,  and 
are  admitted  as  such  by  the  Convention.  The  authority 
however  by  virtue  of  which  they  act  in  this  capacity  does 


286  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

not  appear;  it  is  the  spring  unseen  which  gives  all  the 
visible  motion  of  the  Revolution  in  this  country.  It  con 
sists  of  a  number,  not  very  considerable,  of  individuals 
belonging  to  different  parts  of  the  country,  who  concerted 
secretly  the  mode  of  conducting  the  great  political  altera 
tion  which  was  foreseen ;  who  formed  themselves  into  an 
association  under  the  title  of  the  Batavian  Revolutionary 
Committee ;  who  appointed  the  Revolutionary  Committees 
of  the  several  cities,  at  present  the  apparent  fountains  of  the 
public  authorities ;  and  who  employed  these  two  deputies 
to  negotiate  with  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  at  Paris. 
At  the  time  when  these  persons  assumed  the  office  of 
delivering  their  country  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  be  as 
secret  as  possible  in  their  operations.  But  the  principles 
of  the  new  system  now  establishing  require  publicity,  and 
the  banishment  of  all  mystery  or  even  secrecy  from  the 
councils  of  the  Republic.  The  people  are  to  know  every 
thing  that  is  done  in  their  name,  how  it  is  done,  and  by 
whom.  Such  is  the  theory.  By  the  practice  hitherto  the 
deliberations  of  the  new  Assembly  of  Holland  are  not 
accessible  to  the  public.  They  publish,  however,  their 
journals  from  day  to  day,  and  their  laws  as  soon  as  they  are 
made.  It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  of  a  power  founded  upon 
the  supremacy  of  the  people  and  the  rights  of  man,  the 
people  know  not  at  this  day  whence  it  originated,  that  an 
administration  resting  its  authority  upon  the  foundation 
of  universal  suffrage  consists  of  persons  substantially  chosen 
by  a  small  revolutionary  committee,  and  in  whose  appoint 
ment  the  people  had  not  any  agency  other  than  that  of 
acquiescence,  and  that  while  every  appearance  of  secrecy 
is  exploded  and  almost  proscribed,  the  actors  and  even  the 
plan  upon  which  every  measure  hitherto  adopted  has  been 
taken  are  altogether  unknown. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  287 

There  are  two  objects  of  primary  importance  which  this 
secret  Revolutionary  Committee  wished  to  secure.  First, 
the  internal  revolution  which  has  been  effected,  and  secondly, 
some  precise  conditions  upon  which  their  admission  of  the 
armies  and  their  future  connection  with  the  Republic  of 
France  should  be  founded.  The  first  was  certainly  well 
contrived,  and  has  been  executed  to  admiration.  But  the 
negotiations  with  France  were  not  equally  successful,  and 
this  was  perhaps  owing  to  their  having  been  commenced  at 
a  period  rather  too  late.  The  Deputies  did  not  arrive  at 
Paris  till  the  close  of  December,  when  the  rivers  had  already 
been  prepared  by  the  hands  of  nature  for  the  passage  of 
the  French  armies.  They  treated  secretly  with  the  Com 
mittee  of  Public  Safety,  and  probably  obtained  from  them 
a  promise,  as  far  as  they  could  make  it,  that  the  sovereignty 
and  independence  of  the  Republic  would  be  preserved ; 
but  as  for  the  rest,  perhaps  they  were  told  they  must  con 
tent  themselves  with  a  dependence  upon  the  generosity  of 
the  French  people. 

In  a  report  to  the  Convention  from  their  Executive 
Committees,  made  some  time  since,  it  was  said  that  the 
Republic  would  make  a  peace  with  Holland  under  the 
guarantee  of  their  own  forces.  Even  at  this  moment  the 
relative  situation  of  the  two  nations  remains  a  problem  of 
solution  not  perfectly  easy. 

On  the  2Oth  of  January  (ist  Pluviose),  the  Representatives 
of  the  French  people  with  the  armies  of  the  North  and  of 
Sambre  and  Meuse  arrived  at  Amsterdam,  and  on  the  same 
day  they  published  their  proclamation  to  the  Batavian 
people,  copies  of  which  they  addressed  formally  to  the 
foreign  ministers  residing  here.  In  this  proclamation  is 
expressly  said,  "We  appear  in  the  midst  of  you  as  your 
friends  and  allies.  We  do  not  come  to  subdue  you.  The 


288  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

French  nation  will  respect  your  independence.  The  Bata- 
vian  people  in  the  exercise  of  their  sovereignty  can  alone 
change  or  modify  the  form  of  their  government." 

Yet  on  the  25th  of  January  Carnot  announced  to  the 
Convention  that  Amsterdam  was  taken.  On  the  2yth  the 
Representatives  with  the  armies  write  to  the  Convention, 
that  sundry  places  in  the  province  of  Holland  are  in  the 
power  of  the  (French)  Republic.  And  in  the  beginning  of 
February  the  Batavian  Deputies  address  the  Convention 
expressly  in  the  name  of  a  conquered  people,  and  appear 
throughout  their  discourse  to  consider  the  fate  of  their 
constituents  as  being  still  dependent  upon  the  will  of  the 
Convention. 

They  sollicit  of  that  body  to  "restore  the  inestimable 
treasure  of  national  Independence  to  Holland  liberated  by 
them,"  affirming  at  the  same  time,  "that  this  is  the  only 
means  of  rendering  this  brilliant  conquest  really  serviceable 
to  France,"  etc. 

They  pray  the  legislators  to  permit  the  free  people  of  the 
Batavian  cities  and  country  "the  speedy  election  of  their 
constituted  authorities." 

The  two  last  clauses  of  this  address  are  particularly 
remarkable. 

It  is  in  this  manner  alone,  it  is  alone  by  the  means  of  magistrates 
elected  by  the  people  in  the  provincial  assemblies  under  the  eyes 
of  the  Representatives  of  the  French  people,  that  you,  citizens,  will 
avoid  all  the  evils  which  disorganization  would  produce,  and  which 
would  be  more  irreparable  with  us  than  elsewhere.  On  these 
terms,  citizens,  every  sacrifice  will  appear  light  to  the  Batavian 
people.  They  will  even  eagerly  anticipate  every  assistance  which 
you  have  a  right  to  claim  from  them.  The  enthusiasm  of  indepen 
dence  reconquered  will  make  them  equal  to  everything. 

Citizens,  the  right  of  conquest  has  acquired  to  you  an  active  in- 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  289 

dustrious  nation,  worthy  of  some  esteem  for  the  labours  and  suffer 
ings  which  in  former  times  they  sustained  for  Liberty.  A  wise 
'policy  and  your  equity  will  do  the  rest.  The  Batavians  deserve  to 
be  free.  In  breaking  their  chains,  their  gratitude  forges  softer 
ones  for  them  which  they  will  display  with  glory  to  the  world. 

The  answer  made  by  the  President  of  the  Committee  to 
this  address  has  not  been  published  here,  nor  have  I  seen  it. 
The  Commissioners  of  the  States  General,  Brantzen  and 
Repelear,  wrote  to  the  former  Pensionary  Van  de  Spiegel 
a  ciphered  letter,  in  which  they  requested  him  particularly 
to  observe  the  contents  of  this  answer.  When  their  courier 
arrived  here  the  Pensionary  was  already  dismissed.  The 
letter  was  therefore  delivered  to  Mr.  Lelyveld,  the  deputy 
Grefficr  of  the  States  General.  Lelyveld  instead  of  com 
municating  it  to  them,  contrived  to  send  it  deciphered  to  the 
Pensionary.  The  circumstance  was  discovered.  The  new 
Assembly  was  in  consequence  called  together  at  midnight, 
and  sat  till  six  in  the  morning.  The  States  General  were 
assembled  at  seven.  Lelyveld  was  arrested.  Possession 
was  obtained  of  the  ciphered  letter  and  of  the  cipher,  and 
a  new  deputy  Grefficr  was  appointed. 

The  representatives  of  the  French  people  demanded  that 
when  the  seals  should  be  taken  from  the  papers  of  the 
Pensionary,  whom  they  consider  as  one  of  the  bitterest  enemies 
of  the  French  Republic,  one  of  them  may  be  present  at  the 
inspection.  The  same  demand  is  extended  to  the  papers 
of  the  other  persons  under  arrest,  and  the  resolutions  have 
been  taken  accordingly. 

While  the  Batavian  deputies  were  asking  of  the  Conven 
tion  permission  for  their  countrymen  to  constitute  under  the 
eyes  of  the  French  representatives  a  provisional  government, 
the  thing  had  already  been  done  in  two  or  three  of  the 
provinces.  It  is  now  completed  in  Holland,  Utrecht, 


290  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

Guelders  and  Overyssel.  In  all  the  operation  is  uniform, 
commencing  with  the  dismission  of  the  regencies,  and  in 
tended  doubtless  to  conclude  with  the  dissolution  of  the 
States  General,  or  rather  their  regeneration  by  deputations 
from  the  new  Provincial  Assemblies. 

The  preservation  of  this  nation's  independence  and  sov 
ereignty,  at  least  in  point  of  form,  seems  to  be  so  generally 
the  inclination  of  the  people  and  of  their  provisional  repre 
sentatives,  that  no  proposition  of  a  different  system  is  yet 
hazarded  in  the  public  papers,  though  the  press  has  been 
declared  free.  How  far  this  national  sentiment  may  be 
strengthened  in  the  minds  of  the  present  leaders  by  the 
influence  of  private  ambition,  I  shall  not  venture  to  inquire. 
But  among  their  soberest  citizens  out  of  office  there  are 
some  who  think  the  happiness  of  the  people  would  be  best 
promoted  by  annexing  the  United  Provinces  to  the  French 
Republic. 

Ever  since  the  foundation  of  the  Union  the  rival  powers 
of  France  and  England  have  alternately  possessed  great 
influence  over  the  councils  of  the  Republic.  But  the  trans 
actions  of  1787  amounted  substantially  to  a  conquest; 
from  that  period  the  government  here  have  rather  submitted 
than  consented  to  the  measures  proposed  to  them  by  their 
allies.  Under  a  different  constitution  and  administration 
the  subserviency  of  the  nation  must  remain.  Their  naval 
power,  the  foundation  of  all  their  strength  in  the  days  of 
their  glory,  is  no  more.  Their  possessions  in  either  India, 
destitute  of  their  maritime  protection  and  defence,  can 
therefore  in  future  be  held  only  at  the  will  of  others.  Their 
commerce  and  manufactures,  which  have  already  suffered 
so  much  from  the  successful  conveniences  of  other  nations, 
are  declining  from  day  to  day.  The  energy  of  character, 
which  once  distinguished  the  people,  and  was  at  the  same 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  291 

time  the  cause  and  effect  of  their  heroic  exertions  and  splen 
did  achievements,  has  been  broken  by  the  contagious  example 
of  submission  to  foreign  armies,  twice  exhibited  in  the  course 
of  the  seven  last  years,  and  the  name  of  Independence  will 
only  keep  together  a  party  in  the  Republic  which  would 
soon  be  dissolved  in  the  Department. 

Such  are  the  reasons  upon  which  the  advocates  of  this 
policy  support  their  opinion.  It  is  not  for  me  to  pronounce 
upon  their  validity,  nor  is  it  yet  possible  to  determine 
whether  it  will  finally  prevail.  The  present  appearances 
indicate  the  contrary.  I  am,  etc. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  26  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  February  19,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

The  President  of  the  Provisional  Representatives  of 
Holland  sent  me  last  evening  a  copy  of  the  new  law  declar 
ing  the  importation  of  flour  free  during  the  course  of  the 
present  war.  He  had  told  me  there  would  even  be  a  pre 
mium  added  to  encourage  the  trade,  but  the  law  simply 
makes  the  article  free.  As  it  may  be  of  some  consequence 
in  the  United  States  I  herewith  inclose  a  translation  of  the 
publication. 

That  respecting  the  circulation  of  assignats  is  contained 
in  papers  already  sent  you  ;  a  general  compulsive  passing 
of  them  will  be  prevented  if  possible. 

As  the  majority  of  the  Provinces  was  represented  in  the 
assembly  of  the  States  General  upon  the  new  system,  they 
have  already  begun  there  to  annihilate  the  institutions  of 
the  former  Constitution  relating  to  the  generality.  They 
began  by  abolishing  the  Stadtholdership  of  the  union,  and 


292  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

by  a  recognition  of  the  rights  of  man.  They  have  since 
abolished  the  council  of  state  and  the  five  admiralties.1 
They  have  also  sent  a  solemn  deputation  to  the  Representa 
tives  of  the  French  people  here,  to  propose  a  treaty  of  friend 
ship  and  alliance  between  the  two  Republics. 

The  answer  delivered  by  the  President  of  the  National 
Convention  to  the  address  of  the  Batavian  Deputies  has  at 
length  been  published  here  in  the  Dutch  papers.  It  leaves 
the  question  as  to  the  national  independence  of  this  people 
where  it  was.  He  calls  them  Batavian  fellow-citizens,  and 
exhorts  them  to  build  upon  the  foundations  to  be  laid  by  the 
French  nation.  The  Representatives  of  the  French  people 
here  have  repeatedly  promised  that  the  independence  of 
this  Republic  shall  be  respected,  and  such  is  doubtless  the 
system  of  the  French  executive  administration ;  but  from 
a  variety  of  circumstances  it  would  seem  that  the  legisla 
tive  sanction  is  yet  wanting  to  the  plan,  and  that  it  is  a 
point  of  some  delicacy  to  obtain  it. 

The  deputation  from  the  States  General  consisted  of  a 
member  from  each  of  the  seven  Provinces  and  their  new 
Greffier,  who  addressed  the  Representatives  of  the  French 
people,  and  informed  them, 

that  their  High  Mightinesses,  together  with  all  the  Batavian 
people,  friends  of  Justice  and  of  Liberty,  ardently  desire  to  conclude 
between  the  two  nations  as  two  equal  and  independent  Republics 
a  solid  alliance  by  the  means  of  a  Treaty,  founded  upon  equitable 
conditions  and  equally  advantageous  to  the  two  states,  in  order 
to  establish  thereby  between  them  the  foundation  so  long  desired, 
of  the  closest  fraternity  of  which  the  annals  of  the  world  have  hitherto 
made  mention,  a  fraternity,  of  which  it  is  easy  to  foresee  and  to 
calculate  that  the  consequences  cannot  but  be  extremely  advan- 

xThe  five  Admiralty  Boards  were  those  of  Amsterdam,  Rotterdam,  Zeeland, 
North  Holland,  and  Friesland.  Only  the  first  three  were  of  any  moment. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  293 

tageous  to  the  two  nations,  while  it  cannot  fail  to  advance  and 
effectuate  the  general  peace  of  Europe. 

If  these  expressions  are  compared  with  the  plan  of  alli 
ance  mentioned  in  my  No.  n,  perhaps  the  outlines  of  the 
future  alliance  as  intended  to  be  proposed  from  hence  may 
be  inferred.  The  deputation  was  doubtless  very  courteously 
received,  as  was  that  from  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
Holland,  sent  two  days  before  for  the  same  purpose ;  but 
what  answer  was  given  them  does  not  yet  appear. 

Under  the  present  circumstances  it  is  from  Paris  that 
you  will  probably  receive  the  most  accurate  and  earliest 
information  of  the  political  system  which  is  to  govern  this 
country.  The  determination  of  annexing  the  Austrian 
Netherlands  and  Belgium  to  the  French  Republic  has  been 
openly  professed  in  a  speech,  which  was  received  with  the 
most  distinguished  marks  of  applause.  "The  Ocean  and 
the  Rhine,"  said  the  orator,1  "great  rivers,  the  mountains 
and  the  sea  must  be  our  future  boundaries ;  beyond  them  we 
are  the  friends  of  every  people"  This  line  necessarily 
comprehends  several  important  places  hitherto  within 
the  dominion  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  which  may  be 
expected  to  be  ceded  by  the  treaty,  at  the  same  time  when 
the  independence  of  the  remainder  will  be  formally  acknowl 
edged. 

The  French  troops  are  in  possession  of  the  province  of 
Zeeland,  and  the  Revolution  has  been  effected  at  Middel- 
burg  the  capital.2  The  details  of  this  event  are  contained 
in  the  papers  inclosed. 

The  system  of  moderation  towards  the  members  and 
partizans  of  the  former  governments,  which  has  been 

1  Boissy  d'Anglas.     See  Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II.  190. 

2  February  6,  peaceable  possession  was  taken. 


294  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

strongly  recommended  by  the  French  Representatives  from 
the  moment  of  their  arrival  at  Amsterdam,  has  hitherto 
been  pursued  with  very  few  exceptions.  At  Utrecht,  it  is 
said  the  members  of  the  ancient  regency  and  several  other 
persons  have  been  put  under  arrest.  The  representatives 
of  the  people  of  Amsterdam  have  been  instigated  to  imitate 
the  example.  They  have  not  only  resisted  the  impulse  of 
private  revenge,  but  have  published  an  address  to  their 
fellow-citizens,  detailing  the  motives  of  their  conduct  in 
this  respect,  and  declaring  the  principles  upon  which  their 
determination  is  founded  to  persist  in  their  lenient  treat 
ment  of  the  defeated  party.  There  is  indeed  every  reason 
to  hope  that  this  policy  will  not  be  abandoned  so  long  as  the 
Stadtholderian  partizans  remain  quiet,  and  give  no  new 
occasion  for  severity. 

February  2ist.  The  answer  of  the  French  representatives 
to  the  deputations  from  the  States  General  and  the  Pro 
vincial  Assembly  of  Holland  are  now  published.  This 
country  it  seems  is  still  to  be  at  war. 

A  further  proof  of  this  appears  in  the  resolution  taken 
by  the  States  General  to  notify  their  acknowledgment  of 
the  rights  of  man,  abolition  of  the  Stadtholdership,  etc., 
to  all  their  Ministers  in  foreign  countries,  together  with  the 
assurance  that  the  people  wish  no  other  than  a  continuance 
of  peace,  except  with  respect  to  the  courts  of  Vienna,  London 
and  Berlin.1 

It  appears  probable  that  as  soon  as  the  revolution  is 
effected,  and  the  provisional  administration  established 
through  the  seven  Provinces,  a  National  Convention  will  be 
proposed  for  the  formation  of  a  Constitution.  The  present 
prevailing  sentiment  leads  to  the  expectation  that  the 
separate  sovereignties  will  be  dissolved,  and  that  of  the 

1  This  last  phrase  was  an  error,  which  was  corrected  in  the  next  despatch. 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  295 

Batavian  people  alone  remain.  It  is  to  be  observed  that 
the  ideas  upon  the  subject  of  government  in  general  of  that 
which  may  be  most  suitable  to  the  character  and  circum 
stances  of  this  people  are  far  from  being  settled.  They  do 
not  even  seem  prepared  for  the  elementary  principles  of 
universal  suffrage.  They  have  so  long  been  habituated  to 
exclusions  upon  political  commercial  and  religious  considera 
tions,  that  it  is  questionable  whether  they  will  open  the 
door  of  popular  prerogatives  so  widely,  as  their  general 
acknowledgment  of  the  rights  of  man  promises.  In  the 
elections  for  the  provisional  government  the  people  have 
had  no  agency.  The  persons  chosen  are  taken  indiscrim 
inately  from  all  the  Christian  sects.  But  this  political 
liberality  did  not  extend  to  the  appointment  of  any  Jews, 
although  they  are  very  numerous  in  the  Republic,  and  at 
Amsterdam  constitute  perhaps  a  fifth  part  of  the  popula 
tion. 

It  is  said  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  French  army  in 
these  provinces  is  to  march  as  soon  as  possible  upon  an 
expedition  against  Hanover.  They  appear  indeed  desirous 
to  withdraw  all  their  troops  from  a  country  where  at  pres 
ent  they  have  no  occasion  to  act,  and  where  they  will  be 
in  danger  of  contracting  habits  unfriendly  to  their  disci 
pline. 

But  if  they  quit  this  country,  the  aspect  of  internal 
affairs  may  perhaps  be  in  some  measure  affected  by  their 
absence.  They  are  certainly  at  present  the  strongest  bond 
of  union  here,  and  as  long  as  they  remain  the  party  opposed 
to  the  new  order  of  things  will  be  quiet  and  silent;  the  case 
will  not  be  the  same  after  their  departure. 

The  fiscal  of  the  Admiralty  at  Amsterdam  and  the  Vice 
Admiral  van  Kinsbergen  have  been  arrested.  Several  ships 
belonging  to  the  East  India  Company,  very  richly  laden, 


296  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

were  in  the  ports  of  England  at  the  time  when  the  French 
arrived  here.  They  are  now  detained  by  an  embargo.1 
The  circumstance  of  their  being  in  England  is  suspected  to 
be  not  accidental. 

Having  had  occasion  twice  to  write  to  the  President  of 
the  Provisional  Assembly  of  Holland,  in  obedience  to  the 
article  of  my  instructions  which  occasioned  my  correspond 
ence  with  Mr.  Lelyveld,  a  copy  of  which  I  had  the  honor 
of  sending  you  some  time  since,  I  wrote  in  our  own  language. 
Mr.  Paulus  noticed  the  circumstance,  and  I  find  it  is  men 
tioned  in  the  journals  of  the  Assembly  that  the  application 
I  had  made  was  in  writing,  "though  in  the  English  language." 
It  has  to  them  the  appearance  of  singularity,  as  all  their 
other  diplomatic  correspondence  is  carried  on  in  French, 
and  it  subjects  them  to  some  inconvenience  because  very 
few  of  them  can  read  our  language.  I  have  never  used  it 
with  any  one  of  them  without  their  mentioning  it  after 
wards,  but  as  I  have  not  felt  myself  authorised  to  tell  them 
it  was  in  consequence  of  a  positive  instruction,  I  have  never 
given  them  any  reason  for  the  practice.  It  has  been  one 
principal  cause  which  has  hitherto  prevented  me  from 
writing  on  the  subject  of  the  consular  question,  as  well  as 
upon  that  of  the  heavier  duties  imposed  upon  our  naviga 
tion  than  upon  that  of  the  European  nations.2 

I  have  lately  received  a  letter  from  General  Eustace  at 
Paris.  He  assures  me  that  he  delivered  to  Mr.  Monroe 
the  letter  which  I  had  intrusted  to  him  for  you,  so  that  I 

1  Two  commissioners,  Pasteur  and  Vitriarius,  were  sent  to  England  to  obtain 
the  release  of  these  vessels  and  cargoes,  but  did  not  succeed. 

2  The  authorities  allowed  Adams's  American  letters  to  pass,  "though  under  seal," 
a  favor  extended  to  no  other  letters,  not  even  those  of  the  States  General  to  their 
own  ministers.     "They  had  consented  to  accommodate  me,  because  they  were 
well  assured  the  minister  of  their  friends  and  allies  would  not  intrigue  against  them." 
Adams,  Memoirs,  February  12,  1795. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  297 

presume  you  will  receive  it  in  due  time.  The  General  in 
his  letter  insinuates  that  the  motives  of  his  return  to  France 
originated  in  his  arrest  while  he  was  here.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  employed  by  the  Patriots  of  this  country  to 
concert  measures  between  those  at  Paris  and  those  in 
Holland,  as  well  perhaps  as  to  obtain  favorable  terms  from 
their  friendly  conquerors.  I  am  etc. 

TO  SYLVANUS  BOURNE 

HAGUE,  February  22d,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  received  Mr.  Monroe's  letter,  mentioned  to  you  by 
Mrs.  Read,  near  a  fortnight  since.  It  is  dated  January  28th, 
but  the  day  before  that  of  Mr.  Skipwith  to  you,  but  it  docs 
not  contain  a  syllable  upon  the  subject  which  he  requests 
you  to  recommend,  and  indeed  this  affair  appears  to  me  so 
very  mysterious,  that  I  think  it  necessary  at  least  to  under 
stand  and  be  understood  before  I  act. 

I  would  write  to  the  lady  herself,  was  I  not  restrained  by 
considerations  of  prudence.  I  must  therefore  request  you 
to  answer  Mr.  Skipwith  by  the  first  mail,  that  I  fully  concur 
in  the  sentiments  and  dispositions  expressed  in  his  letter 
to  you,  and  that  I  am  not  only  willing  but  anxiously  desirous 
to  contribute  as  far  as  in  my  power  to  the  same  purpose, 
but  I  have  no  discretionary  authority  whatever  over  my 
public  monies ;  that  if  I  had,  it  would  be  impossible  for  me 
to  make  any  advance  upon  the  single  document  he  sent  for 
me ;  that  as  the  demand  upon  me  expressly  purports  to  be 
a  recurrence  to  our  nation,  it  asks  what  as  the  representative 
of  the  nation  I  have  no  power  to  grant ;  that,  nevertheless, 
I  will  with  pleasure  take  measures  to  have  the  sum  demanded 
paid  according  to  the  request,  if  it  is  desired,  but  that  in 


298  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

order  to  enable  me  even  to  ask  repayment  from  the  Ameri 
can  government,  I  must  have  some  document  to  show  that 
the  charge  is  equitable ;  that  at  present  I  do  not  even  know 
what  the  charge  would  be.  That  if  the  present  state  of 
affairs  necessitates  particular  discretion,  I  will  be  content 
with  an  assurance  from  our  Minister  at  Paris,  from  Mr. 
Skipwith,  or  from  the  lady  herself,  that  I  shall  in  future  be 
provided  with  documents  to  warrant  a  solicitation  for  in 
demnity  on  my  part.  That  if  nothing  of  this  can  be  done, 
I  will,  if  the  lady  will  consent,  have  the  money  paid  and 
consider  it  as  a  private  debt  repayable  by  her  or  by  whoever 
receives  it. 

I  know  not  a  human  being  upon  earth  entitled  upon  so 
many  principles,  and  by  such  imperious  obligations,  to  the 
exertions  for  relief  of  every  American  citizen,  the  inhabit 
ants  of  Boston  particularly,  and  of  me  individually,  as 
the  person  to  whom  this  demand  may  be  supposed  to  allude ; 
and  it  is  painful  to  me  that  the  request  comes  under  circum 
stances  which  compel  me  to  a  moment's  hesitation  or  delay. 
But  compliance  to  the  thing  required  of  me  is  impossible, 
and  I  think  I  cannot  execute  another  thing  as  a  substitute, 
without  knowing  whether  it  will  answer  as  such.1  .  .  . 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  27  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  February  25th,  1795. 

.  .  .  March  $th.  The  province  of  Friesland  is  now 
represented  in  the  States  General  regenerated.  That 
Assembly  have  appointed  two  Ministers  Plenipotentiary 

1  This  letter  relates  to  a  request  made  in  favor  of  Madame  de  Lafayette,  but  her 
name  was  not  mentioned. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  299 

to  the  French  Republic,1  one  of  them  is  the  same  person  who 
some  time  since  addressed  the  Convention  as  a  Batavian 
Deputy.  The  object  of  their  present  commission  is  for 
mally  to  demand  again  an  alliance  between  the  two  Repub 
lics  as  free  and  independent  nations. 

Three  of  the  Professors  at  the  University  of  Leyden  have 
been  dismissed.  One  of  them,  Mr.  Pestel,  has  been  distin 
guished  by  several  works  relating  to  the  Constitution  of  this 
Republic.  Even  the  temple  of  the  Muses  is  no  sanctuary 
now,  and  the  Patriots  upon  this  occasion  imitate  an  example 
of  similar  exclusion  heretofore  given  by  their  adversaries. 

The  States  General  have  published  an  address  to  the 
troops  proposing  to  them  a  new  engagement.  By  way  of 
attaching  them  to  the  new  system  they  promise  that  in 
future  the  soldiers  shall  not  be  subject  to  the  discipline  of 
blows,  that  they  shall  be  free  to  marry  without  being 
obliged  to  obtain  the  permission  of  their  captain,  and  that 
promotion  in  future  shall  be  conferred  only  upon  merit  or 
experience,  and  not  by  favor. 

Some  of  the  adherents  to  the  former  government  to  coun 
teract  the  operation  of  these  regulations  say,  that  they  are 
not  sufficiently  liberal  and  think  that  the  choice  of  the  officers 
should  also  be  conferred  upon  the  troops. 

The  prospect  of  a  general  pacification,  which  has  appeared 
opening  during  the  course  of  the  winter,  becomes  daily 
more  distant  and  obscure.  At  present  a  campaign  no  less 
violent  and  bloody  than  the  last  appears  probable.  The 
Emperor,  assisted  by  a  loan  of  money  made  in  England, 
and  another  loan  at  Vienna,  together  with  a  free  gift  from 
the  States  of  Hungary,  seems  determined  upon  a  last  and 

1  Jaques  Blauw,  a  former  magistrate  of  the  city  of  Gouda,  and  Caspar  Meyer, 
a  former  consul-general  of  the  United  Provinces  at  Bordeaux,  were  named  ministers 
plenipotentiary  near  the  French  Republic  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  alliance. 


300  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

violent  exertion  to  obtain  honorable  terms  of  peace  from 
the  French  Republic.  The  King  of  Prussia  negotiates  for 
a  general  negotiation,  and  makes  some  scruple  to  sign  a 
separate  peace.  He  will  perhaps  continue  the  war  through 
the  ensuing  season  as  he  did  through  the  last,  and  it  is 
questionable  whether  the  French  will  carry  the  war  much 
further  into  his  dominions. 

One  would  not  suppose  that  the  present  is  a  moment  for 
indulging  the  ambition  of  conquest  in  this  country.  Yet 
from  the  vicinity  of  Westphalia  and  the  Duchy  of  Olden 
burg  the  dominant  party  contains  individuals  who  are  of 
opinion,  that  the  French  Republicans  will  very  soon  under 
take  and  perform  this  conquest,  and  then  annex  these 
territories  to  the  Batavian  Republic.  Some  of  them  sup 
pose  that  the  expedition  said  to  be  directed  against  Hanover 
is  really  destined  against  East  Friesland. 

On  the  second  of  this  month  the  States  General  took  the 
resolution  that  the  act  of  guaranty  of  the  Stadtholdership 
passed  in  the  year  1787  should  be  immediately  burnt.  They 
ordered  their  agent  van  Hees  to  commit  the  instrument  to 
the  flames  in  their  presence.  He  preferred  asking  his  dis 
mission  from  the  office  he  sustained,  and  his  request  was 
immediately  granted.  They  appointed  in  his  stead  a  per 
son  1  who  had  been  dismissed  from  the  same  station  in 
consequence  of  the  Revolution  in  1787.  .  .  .2 

1  W.  Quarles. 

"The  war  with  Great  Britain  can  no  longer  be  doubted,  and  indeed  it  has  not  for 
a  long  time  been  a  subject  of  question  in  my  mind.  The  preparations  for  a  cam 
paign  as  fiercely  contested  as  the  last  appear  to  be  making  on  all  sides,  and  yet  the 
combatants  begin  to  parley.  All  most  devoutly  sigh  for  peace,  and  the  remainder 
of  the  war  will  perhaps  only  prove  a  fruitless  waste  of  human  life. 

"It  appears  to  me  that  the  value  of  our  neutrality  becomes  doubly  precious,  and 
it  has  the  singular  advantage  of  being  favoured  by  the  interest  of  all  the  belligerent 
powers.  As  the  friends  of  all,  our  commerce  will  be  much  more  serviceable  to  each 


i79Sl  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  301 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  28  [EDMUND   RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  March   lyth,   1795. 


DEAR  SIR  : 

Our  foreign  communications  except  with  France  are  still 
interrupted,  so  that  I  have  neither  the  means  of  receiving  or 
of  conveying  foreign  intelligence.  The  Danish  Minister 
here  sends  a  courier  who  will  pass  through  Hamburg,  and  by 
his  kindness  I  have  an  opportunity  to  send  my  letters  there, 
uncertain  when  they  will  go  from  thence. 

As  to  this  country  a  profound  tranquility  is  the  principal 
circumstance  that  characterises  its  present  internal  state. 
The  States  General  still  retain  their  forms  and  their  name,  for 
the  purpose  of  preserving  without  intermission  the  chain  of 
their  connection  with  foreign  nations  ;  but  the  members  who 
compose  that  assembly  have  undergone  a  total  change. 

of  them  than  our  assistance  could  be  as  confederates.  If  engaged  on  cither  side, 
we  could  give  but  little  help  to  our  party,  and  little  annoyance  to  our  enemy. 

"I  believe  that  the  government  of  Great  Britain  has  discovered  that  the  policy 
of  adding  us  to  the  number  of  their  enemies  would  at  the  present  juncture  be  un 
wise.  If  the  treaty  signed  on  the  I9th  of  November  has  been  ratified,  it  may  prove 
the  foundation  of  the  return  to  that  good  understanding  which  our  interest  and 
inclinations  equally  lead  us  to  preserve  with  all  the  commercial  nations  of  Europe." 
To  Syhanus  Bourne,  March  12,  1795.  Ms. 

"As  the  vessels  from  America  now  arrive  with  some  frequency,  I  presume  you 
will  pursue  the  plan,  which  you  mentioned  your  intention  of  commencing  with  the 
new  year.  I  wish  the  law  required  that  the  registers  and  manifests  should  all  pass 
through  the  consul's  hands,  for  I  sec  no  other  practicable  means  of  collecting  the 
tables  of  our  commerce  in  detail,  which  our  government  require.  I  should  think, 
however,  that  the  present  situation  of  affairs,  which  necessitates  perpetual  applica 
tions  to  you,  from  the  captains  and  merchants  concerned  in  our  commerce,  offers 
a  favorable  opportunity  to  establish  by  degrees  the  custom  of  delivering  the  registers, 
which  I  think  the  law  recommends,  and  which  is  really  practiced  in  other  ports, 
as  in  London  for  instance,  where  I  understand  it  is  universally  complied  with. 
Perhaps  the  good  will  of  the  broker  might  facilitate  much  the  introduction  of  this 
salutary  usage."  To  Syhanus  Bourne,  March  14,  1795.  Ms. 


302  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

Six  of  the  provinces  are  now  represented  under  the  new 
arrangements,  and  the  representation  from  Zeeland  may  be 
expected  daily  to  complete  the  confederacy,  the  former 
deputation  having  some  time  since  been  recalled. 

This  Assembly  and  the  several  Provincial  Assemblies  of 
the  Republic  are  still  employed  in  abolishing  the  institutions 
of  the  former  Constitution  and  substituting  other  arrange 
ments  in  their  stead.  The  President  of  the  Assembly  of 
Holland,  in  a  speech  after  the  completion  of  his  third  presi- 
dence,  mentions  the  general  system  upon  which  the  Revolu 
tion  is  conducted.  The  exterior  forms  (he  says)  of  the 
Legislative  part  of  the  Constitution  are  used  to  operate  a 
complete  change  in  the  Executive  part  which,  when  new  or 
ganized,  will  supply  the  means  of  effecting  the  same  altera 
tion  in  the  Legislative. 

The  administration  of  the  military  force  by  sea  and  by 
land  under  the  former  Constitution  was  cumbrous,  like  all 
the  rest  of  that  system.  It  has  now  been  simplified  and  put 
under  the  direction  of  single  committees.  Mr.  Paulus  is 
president  of  the  Marine  Committee,  and  as  his  talents  for 
this  administration  have  heretofore  been  found  essentially 
serviceable  to  one  of  the  Boards  of  Admiralty,  it  is  expected 
that  his  talents  will  be  of  infinite  service,  as  the  sphere  of  their 
employment  will  now  be  co-extensive  with  the  Republic. 

The  situation  of  this  country's  naval  power  has  already 
been  stated  to  you.  The  list  of  ships  published  by  authority 
under  the  old  government  named  forty-three  men  of  war 
and  thirty-five  frigates  as  the  number  of  the  existing  navy ; 
of  these  not  more  than  fifteen  of  each  were  in  commission, 
and  of  those  in  commission  not  more  than  a  third  part  are 
now  fit  for  being  sent  into  action.  The  foundation  for  a 
respectable  force  however  exists,  and  the  importance  of 
this  department  for  securing  permanency  to  the  revolution 


17951  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  303 

is  well  known  to  those  now  having  the  direction  of  affairs, 
as  appears  very  clearly  by  their  placing  the  most  prominent 
character  of  the  Revolution  at  the  head  of  it. 

There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the  exertions  which  will 
unquestionably  be  directed  to  this  question  will  be  productive 
of  effect  more  than  appears  to  be  expected.  The  system  of 
neglecting  the  maritime  force  and  suffering  it  to  perish  by 
degrees  was  essentially  connected  with,  and  the  natural 
effect  of,  a  subordinate  intimacy  with  the  self-entitled  rulers 
of  the  waves.  To  court  their  friendship,  to  deprecate  their 
resentment,  or  to  secure  their  protection,  nothing  could  be 
more  effectual  than  to  lay  aside  the  means  of  being  formi 
dable  to  them  ;  and,  accordingly  for  the  space  of  the  last 
forty  years,  in  peace  and  in  war,  whether  leagued  as  allies, 
opposed  as  enemies,  or  indifferent  as  neutrals,  the  deadly 
torpor  of  a  political  opiate  has  incessantly  been  infusing 
into  every  vein  and  artery  of  this  naval  constitution,  while 
the  siren  song  of  family  affections  has  always  been  added  to 
charm  its  sensations  as  they  weakened,  and  gently  soothe 
into  the  slumber  of  death. 

But  now  an  opposite  system  will  undoubtedly  direct  the 
policy  of  this  Republic,  and  the  principal  exertions  of  the 
nation  will  be  applied  to  their  maritime  affairs.  But  nothing 
can  be  done  without  money,  and  the  public  treasuries  are 
empty.  A  loan  of  eight  millions  is  ordered  to  be  furnished 
by  the  city  of  Amsterdam  within  the  space  of  a  month,  at  an 
interest  of  three  and  a  half  per  cent,  and  will  undoubtedly 
be  furnished.  Similar  and  proportionable  contributions 
will,  perhaps,  be  levied  upon  the  other  cities  of  the  province. 
The  burden  may  possibly  be  thought  severe,  but  it  will  not 
be  intolerable. 

In  the  meantime  the  fate  of  the  country  still  remains 
undecided.  The  French  armies  are  still  here  as  conquerors, 


3o4  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

and  the  substance  of  independence  is  not  so  scrupulously 
observed  as  its  forms.  The  property  of  the  Stadtholder 
was  considered  for  some  time  as  being  comprehended  un 
der  the  protection  promised  by  the  proclamation  of  the 
French  Representatives,  but  it  is  now  declared  to  have 
become  the  spoil  of  the  conquerors.  This  arrangement 
however  carries  with  it  nothing  very  disagreeable  to  the  pres 
ent  administration  here.  They  are  not  much  disposed  to 
regard  the  losses  of  a  family  which  they  so  cordially  detest, 
and  perhaps  they  think  themselves  well  rid  of  an  administra 
tion  to  property  encumbered  with  debts  beyond  its  value. 
This  will  prove  no  inconvenience  to  the  French,  who  take 
the  estate  but  leave  the  debts  to  be  paid  by  the  former  owner. 

By  the  forms  of  the  present  system,  whatever  the  French 
government  choose  to  have  done  is  notified  by  the  French 
Representatives  here  to  the  Assembly  of  the  States  General. 
They  take  their  resolutions  accordingly,  and  the  execution 
is  by  the  common  authority  of  the  country.  For  military 
affairs  the  generals  possess  the  supremacy  of  notifying. 

In  the  substance  the  people  are  subjected  to  the  usual 
consequences  of  conquest.  More  than  a  hundred  thousand 
soldiers  are  quartered  among  the  people.  It  is  a  grievous 
affliction,  but  is  borne  with  as  much  composure  as  may  be 
expected.  An  heavy  requisition  of  clothing  and  provisions 
has  been  levied.  It  was  painful,  but  the  articles  were 
supplied.  The  greatest  difficulty  has  been  respecting  the 
introduction  and  circulation  of  assignats.  It  was  a  favorite 
object  here  to  obtain  exemption  from  the  necessity  of  making 
them  forcibly  current ;  people  of  all  descriptions  dreaded 
them,  and  it  was  for  some  time  hoped  that  there  would  be 
an  arrangement  on  the  subject  to  give  general  satisfaction. 

But  the  troops  must  be  constantly  supplied  with  sundry 
articles,  and  they  had  nothing  but  paper  to  pay  for  their 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  305 

purchases.  At  length  a  law  was  enacted  by  the  provisional 
assembly  of  Holland  which  directed  the  acceptance  of  the 
paper  in  payment  for  necessary  articles  furnished  to  the 
troops.  The  intention  was  to  circumscribe  the  compulsive 
circulation  within  those  limits,  and  the  law  declared  that  the 
holders  of  the  paper  under  this  regulation  might  deliver  it 
over  to  the  municipalities  of  the  towns.  The  assignats 
are  valued  at  nine  stuivers  to  the  livre,  which  is  very  nearly 
equivalent  to  the  nominal  value.  But  the  latter  part  of  the 
law  is  not  hitherto  executed,  and  the  holders,  of  course, 
are  not  perfectly  satisfied. 

I  am  this  day  informed  that  the  new  deputies  from  Zeeland 
have  taken  their  seats  in  the  States  General  so  that  the 
representation  under  the  new  arrangement  is  complete 
from  all  the  provinces.  .  .  . 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  29  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  March  9  [19],   1795. 

The  course  of  affairs  during  the  operation  of  so  great  a 
change  as  that  which  is  taking  place  in  this  Republic  natu 
rally  produces  various  extraordinary  measures  and  regula 
tions,  some  of  which  affect  immediately  more  or  less  the  inter 
ests  of  other  nations.  The  dispositions  of  the  new  Adminis 
tration  are  certainly  very  friendly  towards  the  United  States. 
They  are  not  studious  to  contrive  laws  whose  operation, 
though  general  in  words,  may  point  in  reality  against  our 
commerce  alone.  They  are  not  inclined  to  be  employed  as 
the  instruments  of  others'  hate,  to  injure  us  from  subservi 
ency,  and  to  throw  every  possible  impediment  in  our  way 
from  submission  to  others  rather  than  from  malevolence 


306  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

against  us.  They  are  not  the  passive  agents  of  a  deliberate 
system  to  cramp  the  growth  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
delay  as  long  as  possible  the  inevitable  day  of  their  national 
power.  They  receive  no  impulse  from  external  resentment 
or  fear  relative  to  the  prosperity  or  the  principles  of  the 
transatlantic  Republic.  But  the  necessities  of  their  situa 
tion  at  the  present  moment  have,  in  some  instances,  occa 
sioned  an  interruption  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  neutral 
and  stipulated  rights  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

A  law  was  published  some  time  since  relative  to  the  circu 
lation  of  the  French  assignats,  and  containing  also  a  prohibi 
tion  under  severe  penalties  against  the  exportation  of  specie 
from  this  province.  It  forbids  all  persons  going  out  of  its 
bounds  from  carrying  any  more  with  them  than  a  sufficiency 
(to  be  ascertained  by  the  municipalities  of  the  place  from 
whence  they  depart,)  for  the  expenses  of  their  intended 
journies.  There  are  at  this  time  several  citizens  of  the 
United  States  at  Amsterdam  who  arrived  lately,  bringing 
with  them  sums  of  money  with  the  intention  of  proceeding 
into  Germany  upon  pursuit  of  their  commercial  affairs,  and 
they  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  permission  from  the  mu 
nicipality  to  take  with  them  the  money  they  brought  here, 
upon  the  supposition  that  it  is  forbidden  by  the  law  before 
mentioned.  Upon  meeting  with  the  difficulty  from  the 
municipality,  Mr.  Bourne  wrote  me  requesting  me  to  make 
application  on  the  subject  to  the  government  here. 

I  saw  the  President  of  the  Provisional  Assembly  of 
Holland  and  represented  to  him  the  circumstances,  assuring 
him  I  was  persuaded  an  erroneous  construction  had  been 
given  to  the  clause  in  the  law,  and  that  it  was  not  intended 
to  operate  in  a  manner  inconsistent  with  the  stipulations 
contained  in  the  treaty. 

He  said  there  was  certainly  no  such  intention.     That  there 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  307 

was  meant  to  be  left  a  discretionary  power  with  the  munici 
palities  to  authorize  strangers  travelling  through  the  country 
to  carry  with  them  whatever  money  they  had  brought  into 
it.  That  if,  however,  the  scruples  of  the  municipality  at 
Amsterdam  should  continue,  it  would  still  perhaps  not  be 
necessary  for  me  to  apply  to  the  States  General  on  the 
occasion,  as  the  law  would  in  all  probability  very  soon  be 
repealed.  It  was  only  a  temporary  regulation  which  had 
already  answered  as  far  as  could  be  expected  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  made,  and  was  therefore  no  longer  necessary. 

Two  American  vessels  arrived  in  the  course  of  the  winter  at 
the  Texel  have  hitherto  been  prevented  by  the  ice  from  pro 
ceeding  to  Amsterdam.1  At  present  the  French  comman 
dants  in  the  ports  where  they  are,  will  not  permit  them  to 
finish  their  voyage  without  passports  from  the  representatives 
of  the  French  people.  Upon  my  mentioning  this  fact  the 
President  said  it  must  be  owing  to  some  mistake.  He  said 
he  would  speak  to  the  French  representative,  Alquicr,  the 
only  one  still  remaining  here,  and  requested  me  to  do  the 
same,  if  I  thought  proper,  in  order  to  remove  this  incon 
venience  at  present  and  anything  of  the  same  kind  in  future.2 

I  requested  of  the  Representative  Alquicr,  first  verbally, 
and  afterwards  in  writing,  an  order  to  the  commandants  at 
the  places  where  the  two  vessels  are  detained  to  permit  them 
to  depart  and  complete  their  voyage  to  Amsterdam,  and 
also  proposed  to  him  to  give  a  general  order  to  all  the  French 
commandants  in  the  ports  of  the  Republic,  by  virtue  of 
which  the  captains  of  vessels  belonging  to  citizens  of  the 
United  States  may  in  future,  upon  presenting  to  the  com 
mandants  their  sea  letters  or  passports  prescribed  in  the 
treaty  of  commerce  subsisting  between  the  States  General 

1  The  Concordia,  Captain  Bysand,  and  the  Complanter,  Captain  Cahoon. 
'Adams,  Affmoirs,  March  9,  1795. 


308  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

and  the  United  States,  enjoy  the  liberty  of  commerce  and 
the  navigation  stipulated  in  that  treaty. 

He  said  that  as  to  the  two  vessels  in  particular,  there 
could  not  be  the  smallest  objection  to  the  expedition  of  the 
passports,  but  that  under  the  circumstances  of  the  present 
moment  an  indispensable  necessity  dictated  measures  to 
prevent  the  departure  of  any  vessels  bound  to  foreign  ports. 
"  We  are  yet  in  this  country"  (said  he)  "as  conquerors,  or  at 
least  we  occupy  it,  and  we  are  obliged  to  employ  some  ex 
traordinary  means  of  precaution  which  we  have  concerted 
with  the  government  here." 

I  told  him  that  the  United  States  being  sincere  and 
cordial  friends  to  both  the  French  and  Dutch  nations,  I 
could  assure  him  my  fellow  citizens  would  not  be  inclined  to 
raise  reclamations  against  the  measures  of  prudence  or  pre 
caution,  which  are  commanded  by  the  necessities  of  an 
extraordinary  occasion,  even  if  their  operation  should  involve 
some  temporary  inconvenience  to  us.  But  at  the  same  time 
I  hoped  and  believed  our  friends  would  not  extend  these  in 
conveniences  any  further  than  absolute  necessity  should 
require,  and  that  every  possible  facility  would  be  afforded 
to  a  commerce  so  beneficial  to  the  interests  of  all  parties. 

He  said  that  in  the  course  of  a  short  time,  perhaps  a  few 
days,  an  entire  liberty  of  navigation  would  be  restored,  and  in 
the  mean  time,  if  any  captains  of  American  vessels  were 
desirous  of  sailing  and  would  inform  me  of  their  wishes,  it 
might  facilitate  their  departure.  That  no  unnecessary 
restrictions  would  be  imposed,  and  every  possible  facility 
be  given. 

The  principle  upon  which  the  French  have  proceeded 
since  their  conquest  of  these  provinces  is,  that  they  came  as 
the  friends  of  the  people  and  the  enemies  of  the  govern 
ment.  One  of  its  deductions  is,  that  although  they  leave 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  309 

private  property  untouched  that  of  the  government  be 
comes  the  property  of  the  conquerors,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  other  governments  with  whom  they  are  at  war 
which  they  find  here.  And  as  part  of  this  property  consists 
in  vessels  laying  in  the  several  ports  of  the  Republic,  they 
think  it  necessary  to  allow  none  to  depart  without  first 
ascertaining  whether  it  is  not,  upon  the  system  which  they 
have  adopted,  an  object  of  seizure. 

March  24.  A  general  arrangement  is  at  length  agreed  to 
by  the  Representative  Alquier,  in  consequence  of  which 
our  navigation  and  commerce  in  this  country  will  not,  I 
presume,  meet  with  any  further  obstructions.  I  inclose 
herewith  a  copy  of  my  correspondence  with  him  on  this 
subject,  and  of  his  order  to  the  commandants. 

Although  this  correspondence  does  not  come  within  the 
article  of  my  instructions  which  prescribes  to  me  the  exclusive 
use  of  our  own  language,  I  am  not  without  my  apprehensions 
that,  in  using  any  other  language  upon  any  occasion  when  I 
write  in  my  official  capacity,  I  may  be  really  departing  in 
some  measure  from  the  system  upon  which  that  direction 
was  given  me.  Your  instructions  in  this  instance  command 
me  not  to  lose  a  particular  right,  and  so  far  I  shall  certainly 
follow  them.  If  it  is  the  intention  of  the  President  that  I 
shall  never  vary  from  the  exercise  of  the  right,  I  shall  scrupu 
lously  observe  the  order  from  the  moment  it  shall  be  notified 
to  me. 

If  it  be  an  established  maxim  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  that  all  the  correspondence  of  their  servants 
shall  invariably  be  carried  on  in  their  own  language,  it  shall 
never  be  varied  from  by  me  after  I  shall  once  be  informed 
of  the  fact.  As  this  inference  may  be  drawn,  though  it  is 
not  indispensable  from  that  clause  of  my  instructions,  I  have 
thought  myself  authorized  on  these  occasions  to  use  the 


310  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

French,  as  an  accommodation  to  the  persons  to  whom  I 
wrote,  and  have  therefore  always  written  to  the  French  rep 
resentatives  here  in  that  language. 

I  have  had  occasion  repeatedly  to  make  application  to 
them  upon  occurrences  so  inconsiderable  as  not  to  deserve  a 
particular  notification  of  them  to  you,  and  in  which  nothing 
more  than  some  particular  convenience  of  an  individual 
fellow-citizen  was  to  be  obtained.  They  have  always  re 
quired  a  demand  in  writing,  but  upon  every  occasion  I  have 
found  them  ready  to  give  every  facility  that  has  been 
required  of  them  in  behalf  of  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
and  their  assurances  of  good  will  and  fraternity,  which 
never  fail  of  being  repeated  with  the  utmost  apparent  cordi 
ality,  have  hitherto  been  as  invariably  attended  by  the  sub 
stantial  proofs  of  their  sincerity  in  the  compliance  with 
everything  demanded  of  them. 

I  have  the  honor,  &C.1 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

DEAR  SIR:  THE  HAGUE,  April  i,  179$- 

Since  the  date  of  my  last  letter,  February  12,  nothing 
very  material  has  taken  place  in  this  country.  The  cus 
tomary  tranquility  has  been  uninterrupted,  and  the  Patriots 
of  the  present  day  have  been  proceeding  with  moderation 
towards  their  first  object,  the  annihilation  of  the  govern 
ment  that  has  hitherto  existed.2 

1  With  the  country  in  the  singular  position  of  being  at  the  same  time  conquered 
and  independent,  the  regulations  proved  at  times  confusing.     The  American  minis 
ter  was  obliged  to  treat  with  two  authorities,  the  government  of  the  country  and  the 
Representative  of  France,  and  in  treating  with  the  latter  his  functions  appeared  to 
deal  with  questions  properly  under  the  American  minister  to  France,  James  Monroe. 
No  dispute  over  authority  arose  between  the  two  ministers. 

2  "With  respect  to  internal  arrangements,  the  Revolution  is  to  be  considered  as 
distinct  from  the  Conquest.     The  principles  may  be  conceived  from  the  following 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  311 

I  say  the  Patriots  of  the  present  day,  because  the  party  is 
not  exactly  the  same,  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  your  residence 
here.  The  operators  of  the  present  revolution  are  to  be 
considered  rather  as  a  detachment  from  the  old  Patriots, 
whose  principles  they  have  abandoned  altogether  and  substi 
tuted  others  in  their  stead. 

This  circumstance  gives  the  clue  to  account  for  the  total 
silence  and  obscurity  in  which  such  men  as  Mr.  Van  Berckel, 
Van  der  Capellen,  Gyzelaer,  and  many  others,  formerly 
considered  as  the  principal  characters  of  the  patriotic  party 
and  the  greatest  sufferers  by  the  Stadtholder's  victory  in 
1787,  have  continued  and  still  continue  amid  the  great 
political  changes  now  taking  place  in  their  country.  One 

statement.  The  French  nation,  having  conquered  the  Stadtholdcrian  government, 
establish  the  Liberty  of  the  Batavian  people,  who  receive  this  blessing  from  their 
hands  as  a  present.  The  first  use  they  make  of  it  is  to  abolish  every  part  of  the  con 
quered  government,  reserving  only  the  States  General  for  the  present,  in  order  to 
preserve  without  interruption  their  relations  with  foreign  nations.  The  municipal 
governments  are  all  destroyed,  provisional  municipalities,  elected  by  the  people, 
are  substituted  in  their  stead.  Provincial  assemblies  are  constituted,  consisting 
of  deputies  from  the  new  municipalities.  The  provincial  assemblies  abolish  the 
former  provincial  states,  and  all  their  appendages,  as  also  the  Stadtholdership  of 
each  province.  The  States  General,  who  are  continued  merely  in  point  of  form, 
consist  of  deputations  from  the  provincial  assemblies.  So  that  the  change  of  men 
is  universal;  of  forms  considerable,  but  not  total;  of  substance  very  small  indeed." 
To  William  Short,  March  31,  1795.  Ms. 

"It  is  well  known  to  you  that  secrecy  is  considered  as  an  essential  ingredient 
of  the  commercial  policy  of  this  country.  It  forms  the  character  of  their  public 
institutions,  and  it  is  taught  as  an  elementary  principle  of  education.  No  details 
of  commerce  are  published  by  authority.  The  public  offices  are  not  gratuitously 
or  legally  accessible.  The  only  source  of  information  on  this  head  is,  the  knowledge 
of  individuals.  There  are  great  numbers  of  merchants  who  are  in  possession  of  the 
information,  but  whose  habits  and  principles  are  equally  powerful  to  persuade 
them  from  making  any  communications.  This  system  of  concealment  so  univer 
sally  prevails,  that  the  subject  upon  which  men  of  genius,  science  and  general  in 
formation  in  this  country,  other  than  professional  merchants,  are  found  to  be  the 
least  informed,  is  that  of  the  national  commerce."  To  the  Secretary  of  State, 
April  2,  1795.  Ms. 


312  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

article  of  creed  at  the  present  day  is,  that  all  the  dissensions 
in  the  Republic  heretofore  have  merely  been  struggles  for 
power  and  office  between  two  cabals,  a  wicked  faction 
with  Orange  and  a  wicked  faction  without;  that  both  have 
been  equally  regardless  of  the  rights  of  man  and  the  happiness 
of  the  people ;  that  now  the  principles  are  changed,  and  the 
sacred  love  of  universal  liberty  is  the  only  motive  which 
inspires  the  actors  upon  the  scene. 

The  ancient  Constitution  therefore  must  be  destroyed,  or 
rather  it  vanishes  before  the  light  of  a  single  luminous  prin 
ciple.  It  was  founded  on  the  rights  of  princes,  of  nobles,  of 
corporations,  of  the  church,  in  short  upon  a  motley  jumble  of 
every  possible  right,  except  the  only  rights  upon  which  any 
legitimate  government  can  rest,  the  rights  of  man. 

Such  is  the  present  logic  of  the  party.  It  has  been 
adopted  by  the  great  number  of  the  ancient  Patriots,  because 
it  is  conformable  to  the  fashionable  doctrines  of  their  libera 
tors,  and  because  it  is  supposed  there  is  a  seed  of  rapid 
propagation  contained  in  it  which  will  strengthen  the  party 
with  numerous  additions  from  the  populace,  who  have 
generally  been  partizans  of  the  House  of  Orange. 

But  the  reasoning  is  not  conclusive  to  the  minds  of  all 
the  old  Patriots.  They  say  that  the  theory  of  their  govern 
ment  was  indeed  absurd.  But  that  in  affairs  of  government, 
as  well  as  others,  the  pride  of  human  reason  must  often 
submit  to  the  lessons  of  experience.  That  under  this  govern 
ment,  cumbrous  and  inaccurate  as  it  was,  the  people  have 
enjoyed  two  hundred  years  of  prosperity.  That  it  secures 
to  the  possession  of  every  individual  a  greater  share  of 
personal  liberty,  a  greater  degree  of  security  to  property,  and 
a  more  liberal  range  of  opinions,  than  has  commonly  been 
found  in  other  governments  hitherto.  In  short  they  adhere 
still  to  the  ancient  Constitution,  and  reluct  at  a  total  change 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  313 

upon  the  usual  and  natural  reasons  which  operate  against 
violent  political  innovations. 

Thus  you  will  observe,  Sir,  that  a  schism  among  the 
Patriots  has  taken  place,  similar  to  that  which  in  England 
has  been  noticed  by  the  distinction  between  the  new  and  the 
old  Whigs.  But  as  far  as  private  opinions,  compressed  and 
restrained  by  an  armed  force,  can  be  traced,  the  Patriots  have 
not  gained  real  strength  in  point  of  numbers  by  this  change 
of  principles. 

Under  the  prevalence  of  the  new  theory  all  the  former 
functionaries  have  been  removed.  The  ancient  forms  have 
been  abandoned  or  retained,  according  to  the  dispositions 
of  the  several  new  institutions.  Instead  of  the  Provincial 
States  provisional  assemblies  to  represent  the  people  have 
been  formed  in  all  the  provinces,  and  all  pompous  titles 
are  laid  aside,  except  those  belonging  to  the  States  General, 
which  are  retained  only  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the 
relations  of  the  country  uninterrupted  with  foreign  nations. 

A  committee  of  the  States  General  is  appointed  already  to 
draw  up  and  present  a  plan  for  the  formation  of  a  National 
Convention,  to  represent  and  to  make  a  constitution  for  the 
whole  people. 

The  jealousies  of  towns  and  of  provinces  will  impede  the 
formation  of  such  a  government  still  more  than  the  ani 
mosities  of  party.  Facilis  descensus  Averno.  The  Patriots 
have  hitherto  done  nothing  but  cut  away  and  pull  down. 
If  they  really  intend  to  erect  a  Republic  one  and  indivisible, 
founded  upon  universal  suffrage,  a  single  assembly  and  com 
mittees,  which  appears  to  be  their  plan,  they  will  not  succeed. 

I  mentioned  in  my  last  letter  that  on  the  arrival  of  the 
French  Representatives  at  Amsterdam,  they  published  a 
proclamation  declaring  the  liberty  and  sovereignty  of  the 
Batavian  people,  and  at  the  same  time  expressing  the  inten- 


3H  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

tion  of  the  friendly  invaders  to  repress  all  excesses  between 
the  inhabitants.  They  have  carried  this  intention  into  full 
effect,  and  indeed  the  precaution  was  necessary.  Their 
interference  has  more  than  once  been  requisite,  to  preserve 
individuals  of  the  defeated  party  from  severe  treatment,  to 
say  the  least. 

The  recollection  of  the  past  and  anticipation  of  the  future 
equally  contribute  to  exasperate  the  present  possessors  of 
power  against  their  adversaries.  It  is  remembered  that 
the  victory  in  1787  was  not  enjoyed  with  moderation.  It 
is  foreseen  that  violent  struggles  will  be  made  in  future  to 
recover  what  has  recently  been  lost.  The  possibility  of  a 
return  to  the  former  dominion  is  affectedly  denied,  and  hence 
its  probability  is  forcibly  felt.  The  conquered  partizans 
emboldened  by  the  lenient  treatment  they  experience 
do  not  disguise  their  hopes,  and  as  their  only  present  con 
solation,  love  to  intimidate  by  threats.  Revenge  and  terror 
rankle  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  suffered  from  op 
pression,  and  are  now  in  possession  of  power.  They  are 
restrained  from  action  only  by  the  presence  of  their  armed 
liberators,  and  the  tranquility  of  the  country  has  no  security 
so  effectual  as  the  protection  of  the  French  armies. 

The  States  General  have  appointed  two  ministers  plenipo 
tentiary,  to  solicit  and  negotiate  an  alliance  with  the  French 
Republic.1  They  have  been  some  time  at  Paris,  but  have 
not  yet  been  received  in  their  characters  by  the  National 
Convention. 

A  war  with  Great  Britain  is  supposed  to  be  inevitable. 
The  naval  force  of  this  Republic  was  found  reduced  beyond 
all  imagination.  The  five  admiralties  have  been  abolished 
in  common  with  all  the  other  institutions  of  the  ancient 
constitution. 

1  See  p.  259  supra. 


i79sl  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  315 

The  administration  of  maritime  affairs  is  intrusted  to  a 
Marine  Committee,  and  upon  the  new  organization  of  the 
navy  only  six  ships  of  the  line  have  been  put  in  Commission. 

The  finances  were  found  in  a  state  of  ruin,  rather  than  of 
disorder.  The  want  of  money  was  perhaps  purposely 
prepared  by  the  former  government,  by  way  of  precaution. 
To  provide  for  present  necessities,  a  loan  of  eight  millions 
has  been  imposed  upon  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  and  similar 
resources  may  be  sought  from  the  other  parts  of  the  Re 
public. 

The  military  preparations,  however,  proceed  with  languor, 
and  meet  with  numerous  difficulties,  and  the  necessity  of 
peace  is  forcibly  felt  here  and  in  every  part  of  Europe. 

The  neutral  navigation  and  commerce  is  freed  from  its 
former  shackles  and  invited  by  encouragements.  The 
States  General  have  removed  all  prohibitions.  In  this 
Province  flour  and  rye  meal  will  be  admitted  free  from 
duties  during  the  course  of  the  present  year.  The  scarcity 
of  grain  and  flour  is  great  throughout  Europe.  In  France 
it  is  extreme. 

Paris  has  again  been  in  a  state  of  agitation.  The  Con 
vention  seems  to  lose  its  popularity.  They  have  very  lately 
passed  a  law  to  provide  against  the  case  of  their  own  dissolu 
tion  by  violence.  It  enjoins  on  the  contingency  of  such  an 
event,  that  the  members  who  may  escape  from  the  hands  of 
the  assassins,  together  with  the  complementary  members  from 
the  departments,  shall  assemble  at  Chalons  sur  Marne,  and 
collect  from  the  several  armies  a  force  to  protect  their 
deliberations.  By  the  last  accounts  from  Paris  the  city  was 
more  quiet  than  it  had  been  a  few  days  before. 

The  rumors  of  peace  between  France  and  Prussia  are 
frequent,  but  not  yet  authenticated.  The  event  is  con 
sidered,  however,  as  probable.  It  appears  certain  at  least 


316  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

that  the  Prussian  army  has  been  withdrawn  from  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine,  and  that  the  French  troops  have  retired  from 
the  Prussian  dominions  bordering  on  this  country.1 
I  am  &c. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  32  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  April  7th,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

The  Provincial  Assembly  of  Holland  have  published  a  law 
requiring  the  inhabitants  to  furnish  all  their  plate  to  be 
coined  for  public  use. 

The  plenipotentiaries  in  France  have  not  yet  been  ad 
mitted  by  the  Convention.  It  is  supposed  they  meet  with 
difficulties  which  prevent  the  conclusion  of  the  proposed 
alliance.  The  Patriots  say  that  it  is  only  a  disagreement 
as  to  certain  articles  to  be  inserted  in  the  treaty.  The 
other  party  pretend  that  the  alliance  has  been  peremptorily 
refused. 

A  few  days  since  a  report  was  circulated  at  the  same  time 

1  "The  manner  in  which  all  the  present  authorities  in  this  country  were  formed 
opens  an  inevitable  source  of  discussion  and  dissension  as  to  the  limits  of  their 
several  functions.  All  the  forms  and  many  of  the  principles  of  the  ancient  constitu 
tion  were  abandoned.  A  semblance  of  approximation  towards  popular  forms  was 
substituted,  but  no  permanent  principles  have  hitherto  been  established."  As 
an  example  he  cites  an  oath  of  fidelity  prescribed  by  the  Provincial  Assembly,  to  be 
taken  by  the  members  of  the  several  municipalities,  and  also  by  all  their  executive 
agents.  Amsterdam  and  Leyden  objected,  and  the  latter  protested  on  the  ground 
that  "the  Government  is  at  present  merely  provisional,  the  child  of  the  moment, 
and  was  never  intended  to  be  established  as  the  constitutional  government  of  the 
country;  that  it  is  very  unequal  in  its  principle,  as  it  gives  to  the  most  incon 
siderable  village  in  the  province  a  number  of  suffrages  equal  to  that  of  the  rep 
resentation  from  the  capital."  The  answer  to  this  protest  was  the  arrest  of 
Schimmelpenninck  and  five  other  members  of  the  municipality.  To  the  Secretary 
of  State,  March  27,  1795.  Ms. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  317 

throughout  the  province,  that  peace  was  concluded  between 
F ranee  and  Prussia,  that  by  one  of  its  articles  the  French  had 
stipulated  that  their  troops  should  all  be  withdrawn  from 
this  country,  that  in  consequence  of  this  agreement  they  had 
already  begun  to  quit  the  frontier,  and  that  as  they  retired 
they  were  immediately  followed  by  the  Prussians,  who  would 
very  soon  be  at  the  gates  of  Amsterdam.  It  was  propagated 
with  so  much  industry  and  believed  with  so  much  credulity, 
that  in  all  the  large  cities  the  partizans  of  the  former  govern 
ment  began  to  lay  aside  the  three-colored  cockade ;  the 
songs  peculiar  to  the  party  were  publicly  sung,  and  the  symp 
toms  of  seditious  practices  were  so  great  that  it  became 
necessary  to  keep  nightly  patroles  in  the  streets,  and  to  make 
examples  among  the  populace  of  those  who  had  been  the 
most  conspicuous  in  instigating  the  disorders.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  this  popular  fermentation  was  purposely 
raised  by  way  of  experiment,  but  by  whom  does  not  appear, 
nor  indeed  is  it  easy  to  discover  from  which  of  the  parties  it 
was  provoked. 

It  serves  to  show  the  degree  of  stability  usually  attributed 
to  the  present  government,  when  a  mere  report,  destitute 
of  probability  no  less  than  of  foundation,  could  produce 
riotous  appearances  throughout  the  province.  A  judg 
ment  may  be  formed  what  would  be  the  consequence  of  the 
French  army's  withdrawing  in  reality. 

The  destiny  of  this  country  may  be  represented  in  a  very 
few  words,  submission  to  a  foreign  military  or  civil  war.  A 
foreign  power  may  govern  very  peaceably  in  the  name  of 
either  party,  but  neither  has  sufficient  strength  to  rule  in 
quiet  without  external  assistance. 

The  party  now  in  employ,  though  probably  the  most 
numerous  of  the  two,  needs  this  assistance  still  more  than  the 
other  because,  having  no  center  of  union,  no  constant  attrac- 


3i8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

live  force  drawing  them  together,  they  are  discordant  among 
themselves.  They  can  assimilate  only  for  purposes  of 
hostility  against  the  other  party,  their  common  enemy.  But 
the  moment  they  become  victorious  all  the  jealousies  of 
provinces,  of  towns,  of  individuals  and  families,  assume  their 
full  force,  impede  every  measure  proposed,  and  render  their 
government  languid,  lifeless  and,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
contemptible. 

The  truth  of  this  observation  has  been  proved  by  the 
perpetual  tenor  of  this  nation's  history  since  its  existence  as  a 
republic.  Every  occurrence  of  the  present  times  tends  to 
the  same  issue.  In  my  letter  written  before  the  catastrophe 
of  the  late  government  mention  was  made  of  the  general 
principles  upon  which  the  Patriots  then  proposed  to  erect 
their  Constitution  on  the  ruins  of  the  Union  of  Utrecht. 
At  the  first  moment  of  the  revolution  in  the  transports  of 
joy  common  to  all  the  party,  there  were  some  appearances 
which  indicated  an  united  intention  to  dissolve  all  the  par 
ticular  corporate  privileges  and  distinctions  into  the  general 
mass  by  a  new  Constitution  founded  upon  universal  liberty 
and  equality.  Hence  the  acknowledgements  of  the  rights 
of  man  and  citizens  proclaimed  by  all  the  Assemblies. 
Hence  the  original  resolutions  of  the  Provincial  Assembly 
that  the  suffrages  of  that  body  should  in  future  be  counted 
by  persons  and  not  by  cities ;  hence  the  forms  of  popular 
election  observed  in  constituting  the  present  authorities. 

This  unanimity  prevailed  only  during  the  moment  of 
mutual  gratulation.  The  same  Assembly  which  had  estab 
lished  the  maxim  of  personal  suffrage  contrary  to  the 
practice  of  the  former  States  of  the  Province,  which  had 
admitted  representatives  from  all  the  villages  unrepresented 
in  the  States,  which  had  declared  the  sovereignty  to  be  the 
right  of  the  whole  people  and  equality  to  be  that  of  all 


i79S]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  319 

individuals,  within  a  month  afterwards  decided  that  Amster 
dam  might  send  what  number  of  representatives  its  munici 
pality  thought  proper,  but  that  only  four  of  them  could 
be  allowed  to  vote.  The  same  number  of  votes  is  allowed  to 
each  of  the  other  cities,  so  that  the  comparative  representa 
tion  of  Amsterdam  is  reduced  even  lower  than  it  was  under 
the  former  government. 

The  municipality  of  Amsterdam  was  dissatisfied  with  this 
decision,  but  submitted  without  remonstrating  upon  the 
presumption  that  the  provisional  Assembly  would  soon  be 
dissolved,  and  that  under  the  new  arrangement  the  capital 
would  be  entitled  to  a  representation  proportionable  to  its 
population.  But  soon  after  the  provisional  Assembly  pre 
scribed  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  themselves,  and  required  it 
should  be  taken  by  all  the  members  of  the  subordinate 
authorities.  The  municipality  of  Amsterdam  refuse  to  take 
the  oath  and  an  open  breach  ensues  between  them  and 
the  provisional  Assembly.  This  circumstance  has  already 
been  related.  The  arrested  members  have  since  been  re 
leased,  a  suspension  rather  than  accommodation  of  the  dif 
ference  has  been  mutually  consented  to.  Some  concessions 
have  been  made  on  both  sides,  but  the  oath  has  not  been 
taken,  and  the  parties  are  not  satisfied  with  each  other.  The 
root  of  bitterness  is  planted  and  will  shoot  out  in  every 
direction. 

The  same  spirit  of  jealousy  has  already  manifested  itself 
between  the  provinces.  The  total  deficiency  in  the  finances, 
general  and  particular,  has  been  represented,  and  is  equally 
felt  by  all  the  members  of  the  Union,  but  they  do  not  agree 
upon  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  filling  the  public  coffers. 
Six  of  the  provinces  in  the  States  General  have  consented  to 
the  proposal  of  opening  a  loan  of  twelve  millions  of  guilders 
in  the  name  of  the  Union.  But  the  province  of  Holland  has 


320  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

declared  itself  very  explicitly  against  this  proposition  be 
cause  the  burden  of  the  debt  would  fall  upon  that  province 
only,  and  the  Provisional  Assembly  have  substituted  to 
answer  the  same  purpose  the  law  demanding  all  the  gold 
and  silver  of  the  inhabitants  with  certain  exceptions.  The 
express  condition  is,  however,  annexed  to  the  execution  of 
this  law  that  it  shall  be  adopted  by  the  other  provinces,  which 
will  probably  not  be  complied  with.  The  treasuries  will  still 
remain  empty  and  other  resources  will  be  suggested,  discussed, 
and  rejected. 

This  call  for  gold  and  silver  is  already  received  very  un 
favorably  within  the  province.  The  municipality  of  Am 
sterdam  consider  it  as  bearing  with  unequal  weight  upon  that 
city ;  the  regencies  of  the  other  cities,  consisting  generally  of 
persons  upon  whom  this  tax  will  operate  more  than  upon 
the  mass  of  the  people,  will  raise  objections  against  it,  and 
the  legislative  assembly  will  again  be  obliged  to  hunt  for 
expedients.  If  a  suspicion  should  arise  from  these  observa 
tions  that  the  affairs  of  the  country  are  seen  through  a  prej 
udiced  medium  by  the  writer,  the  perusal  of  an  address 
from  the  States  General  to  the  several  provincial  Assemblies 
will  serve  to  shew  how  far  the  facts  are  demonstrated,  and 
how  far  the  opinions  are  rational.  It  is  contained  in  the 
Leyden  Gazette  herewith  inclosed. 

The  consequence  of  this  internal  disunion  proceeding  from 
many  different  sources  is  that  the  country  must  be  governed 
by  a  foreign  power.  The  harmony,  which  has  hitherto 
subsisted  between  the  French  government  and  that  which 
has  arisen  under  their  auspices  here,  is  already  less  cordial 
than  it  was  in  the  beginning.  But  in  the  supposable  case 
of  a  difference  between  them  the  reasons  of  France  will 
necessarily  prevail.  Under  the  present  circumstances  their 
protection  is  indispensable  and  must  therefore  be  purchased 


i79S]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  321 

at  any  price.  The  reports  still  prevail  of  an  armistice 
between  France  and  Prussia.  The  French  army  of  Sambre 
and  Meuse  have  withdrawn  from  Emmerich,  and  retired 
from  the  Prussian  dominions  bordering  on  this  country. 
The  Prussian  Army  has  also  quitted  the  banks  of  the  Rhine 
and  marched  into  Westphalia.  The  sieges  of  Luxemburg 
and  Mentz  are,  at  present,  the  only  military  operations 
going  forward  in  this  quarter,  but  it  is  expected  the  cam 
paign  will  soon  open  more  extensively,  and  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  Empire  it  will  be  pursued,  it  is  said, 
with  the  peculiar  energy  that  characterizes  the  last  effort 
for  the  attainment  of  a  favorite  object. 
I  am  with  great  respect,  &c. 

TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY 

[OLIVER  WOLCOTT] 

THE  HAGUE,  April  loth,  1795. 
SIR: 

Upon  my  arrival  at  Amsterdam  in  November  last,  the 
situation  of  the  funds  of  the  United  States  in  Europe  and 
the  established  mode  whereby  provision  was  made  for  satis 
faction  of  the  calls  for  payments  of  interest  so  frequently 
returning  at  Amsterdam  and  at  Antwerp  were  altogether 
unknown  to  me.  As  the  subject  had  not  been  mentioned 
in  my  instructions  I  presumed  that  it  was  not  considered  as 
requiring  particular  attention  from  me,  and  as  the  circum 
stances  have  rendered  some  intervention  on  my  part  neces 
sary,  I  take  the  liberty  of  inclosing  herewith  my  correspond 
ence  relative  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  due  in  December 
upon  the  Antwerp  loan. 

During  my  first  visit  to  Amsterdam  one  of  the  holders  of 
the  Antwerp  obligations,  who  was  at  that  time  a  refugee 


322  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

from  Brabant,  came  to  me  and  inquired  whether  the  in 
terest  usually  paid  by  Mr.  De  Wolf  in  December  could  not 
be  paid  at  Amsterdam  or  elsewhere.  I  mentioned  the  cir 
cumstances  to  Mr.  Hubbard,  and  then  learnt  from  him 
that  the  interest  payable  by  Mr.  De  Wolf  had  hitherto 
been  annually  remitted  by  the  Amsterdam  bankers,  but 
that  it  had  not  been  sent  as  usual  for  the  payment  then 
approaching. 

Within  a  few  days  after  the  1st  of  December  I  had  several 
applications  from  the  creditors  of  the  Antwerp  loan  similar 
to  that  I  have  already  mentioned.  I  thought  it  necessary 
to  pay  attention  to  a  circumstance  which  might  interest 
in  some  measure  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  and  wrote 
on  the  yth  of  the  month  to  the  bankers  at  Amsterdam,  as 
may  be  seen  together  with  their  answer  in  the  papers  in 
closed,  marked  No.  i. 

As  they  had  not  received  their  usual  orders  to  remit  the 
money,  and  I  had  no  authority  to  give  them,  the  matter 
rested  in  this  situation  until  the  3ist  of  the  same  December. 
They  wrote  me  that  they  had  then  received  their  orders  to 
make  the  remittance,  and  had  informed  Mr.  De  Wolf  they 
would  supply  him  so  soon  as  the  remittance  should  be  allowed 
by  the  government  of  this  country.  The  engagement  to 
make  the  remittance  was  considered  by  me  as  sufficiently 
positive,  but  it  was  made  contingent.  The  obstacle  arising 
from  the  prohibitions  of  the  government  here  had  not  been 
mentioned  before,  and  I  presumed  it  was  not  insuperable ; 
but  it  strongly  confirmed  me  in  the  opinion  I  had  already 
formed,  that  my  particular  attention  to  this  business  would 
be  proper  and  necessary,  though  I  had  no  particular  instruc 
tions  relative  to  it. 

I  knew  the  remittance  was  still  impracticable,  not  for  the 
reason  mentioned  in  their  letter,  but  from  another  fact  of 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  323 

which  I  had  recently  been  informed  and  which  is  noticed 
in  my  answer  to  the  Bankers  dated  January  I3th.  This 
letter  and  answer  together  with  their  reply  are  comprised 
within  the  mark  No.  2  of  the  inclosed  copies. 

On  the  I9th  of  January  the  French  troops  arrived  at 
Amsterdam,  and  from  that  time  the  communication  with 
Antwerp  was  restored  and  the  prohibition  against  the  trans 
mission  of  money  ceased.  On  the  same  day  I  had  with 
Messrs.  William  Willink  and  Hubbard  a  conversation  in 
which  the  former  gentlemen  made  the  observations  which 
I  related  in  the  last  letter  I  had  the  honor  of  writing  you, 
dated  February  2d.  These  observations  were  variant  from 
the  letter  of  December  3ist,  new  reasons  were  alleged  for  not 
pursuing  orders  received,  and  I  was  convinced  beyond  all 
question  that  my  particular  attention  to  the  affair  had  be 
come  an  essential  part  of  my  duty.  But  all  the  same  I  had 
so  little  hope  of  obtaining  the  transmission  of  the  money 
that  in  my  letter  of  February  2,  will  be  found  my  decided 
opinion,  that  in  case  Mr.  De  Wolf  should  soon  be  liberated 
the  payment  of  interest  due  on  his  loan  would  depend  upon 
his  power  to  advance  the  money. 

Though  the  observations  of  Mr.  Willink  so  soon  after  the 
letter  of  December  3 1  st  were  somewhat  unexpected,  I  thought 
it  unnecessary  to  enter  upon  a  discussion  on  the  subject, 
and  observed  only  that  Mr.  De  \Volf  being  in  captivity  it 
was  still  impossible  to  send  him  the  money,  and  while  I 
expressed  my  full  approbation  of  several  other  arrangements 
which  they  had  taken  at  that  critical  period,  and  which 
they  communicated  to  me,  at  the  same  time  I  kept  an  entire 
silence  as  to  this  particular  determination. 

On  the  nth  of  March  I  was  informed  that  Mr.  De  Wolf 
was  again  at  liberty,  had  returned  to  Antwerp,  and  was 
expecting  the  remittance  from  Amsterdam  to  pay  his  inter- 


324  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

ests  due  in  December.  I  wrote  the  next  day  to  the  bankers, 
and  a  correspondence  ensued,  marked  No.  3  in  the  within 
copies,  which  terminated  in  a  positive  refusal  by  them  to 
send  the  money  to  Mr.  De  Wolf.  This  was  indeed  what 
I  had  expected,  and  what  I  presumed  it  would  be  impossible 
for  me  to  counteract,  destitute  as  I  was  of  orders  and  even 
of  authority. 

Hitherto  there  had  been  no  communication  whatever 
between  Mr.  De  Wolf  and  me  upon  this  business,  but  at  the 
same  time  when  the  letter  from  Amsterdam  of  17  March 
was  delivered  to  me  I  also  received  one  from  him  of  the  16, 
the  copy  of  which  herewith  sent  is  marked  No.  4. 

I  did  not  feel  myself  authorized  to  accept  the  proposal 
to  borrow  money  at  an  interest  for  this  payment,  but  the 
offer  gave  me  an  argument  which  I  was  persuaded  would  be 
more  convincing  to  the  minds  of  our  bankers  in  engaging 
them  to  make  the  remittance  than  anything  I  had  before 
been  able  to  use.  A  second  correspondence  took  place,  the 
copies  of  which  are  under  the  mark  No.  5,  the  result  of 
which  was  that  they  authorized  Mr.  De  Wolf  to  draw  upon 
them  for  the  money. 

The  remaining  copies  within,  marked  No.  6,  are  of  letters 
which  afterwards  passed  between  Mr.  De  Wolf  and  me. 
They  only  serve  to  show  the  termination  of  the  business. 
From  the  perusal  of  the  whole  correspondence  an  accurate 
judgment  may  be  formed  of  the  dispositions,  at  Amsterdam 
relative  to  the  Antwerp  loan,  and  from  the  whole  course  of 
circumstances  which  have  occurred  in  this  transaction  I  am 
obliged  to  repeat  an  observation  made  in  my  last  letter, 
that  nothing  beyond  the  line  of  the  most  rigorous  duty  will 
ever  by  done  by  those  gentlemen  to  facilitate  the  payment 
of  that  interest.  I  may  add  that  so  far  as  the  punctual 
fulfillment  of  that  obligation  is  an  object  worthy  of  attention 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  325 

to  the  United  States,  and  so  long  as  it  is  made  dependent 
upon  any  agency  of  theirs,  it  becomes  indispensable  to  give 
them  no  plausible  reason  to  hesitate  a  moment  in  making 
the  remittances  according  to  their  order. 

Since  the  affair  was  finished  I  have  received  the  letters 
which  you  did  me  the  honor  of  writing  me  on  the  1st  and  5th 
of  December  last  with  the  duplicate  and  triplicate  at  the 
same  time.  They  came  with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pinckney 
urgently  demanding  a  remittance  of  303,115  [florins]  accord 
ing  to  the  bill  of  which  your  letters  advised  me.  I  wrote 
to  the  gentlemen  at  Amsterdam  on  the  subject.  They  have 
answered  Mr.  Pinckney,  and  sent  him  a  draft  for  £3000 
sterling,  as  being  the  only  unengaged  balance  belonging 
to  the  United  States  in  their  hands. 

They  suppose  that  the  principal  object  of  the  bill  was  to 
place  the  funds  out  of  the  reach  of  danger,  and  as  the  danger 
which  might  be  contemplated  at  the  time  when  the  bill  was 
drawn  is  now  past,  they  think  it  unnecessary  to  send  the 
whole  amount  of  the  bill.  I  presume  from  your  favor  of 
December  5th  and  from  Mr.  Pinckney's  letter  to  me,  that 
the  money  was  intended  for  some  particular  employment, 
but  when  they  say  they  have  not  the  money  to  send,  the 
only  part  left  for  me  is  acquiescence. 

There  will  considerable  payments  become  due  on  the 
first  of  June.  I  presume  the  gentlemen  at  Amsterdam  will 
be  prepared  for  them. 

The  two  millions  which  were  proposed  to  be  borrowed  to 
be  at  the  disposition  of  the  Minister  at  Lisbon  seem  to  be 
altogether  out  of  the  question.  The  previous  advice  from 
him  has  not  been  received,  and  could  probably  not  be  fol 
lowed  by  a  successful  loan  if  it  were.  Business  of  all  kinds 
is  very  much  at  a  stand.  There  is  at  the  present  moment 
no  sort  of  confidence  in  anything,  but  perhaps  that  of  public 


326  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

loans  is  more  essentially  impaired  than  any  other.1  Be 
sides  the  calls  for  money  for  internal  exigencies  are  so 
numerous  and  so  imperious,  that  there  is  no  prospect  of  a 
return  of  the  superfluity  from  whence  the  public  loans  were 
heretofore  supplied. 

I  have  taken  occasion  from  my  correspondence  with  Mr. 
De  Wolf  to  inquire  of  him,  whether  there  is  any  probability 
that  a  loan  of  two  or  three  millions  may  become  practicable 
at  Antwerp  very  soon.  His  answer  makes  the  circumstance 
dependent  upon  a  variety  of  contingencies,  some  more  and 
some  less  probable  than  others.  He  has  however  requested 
to  correspond  occasionally  with  me  upon  the  subject  of 
American  credit,  and  I  presume  will  give  me  the  earliest 
intimation  of  any  occurrence  that  may  take  place  favorable 
to  the  success  of  any  loan  that  might  be  proposed. 

The  zeal  of  our  bankers  at  Amsterdam  for  the  honor  and 
interest  of  the  United  States  needs  no  stimulus,  but  it  will 
never  be  more  active  than  while  credit  may  be  obtained  and 
is  deserved  at  Antwerp. 

I  have  the  honor,  &c. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  33  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  April  14,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR: 

The  popular  commotions  at  Paris  mentioned  in  a  late 
letter,  of  which  the  scarcity  of  provisions  is  represented 
as  the  pretence,  and  the  intrigues  of  the  Jacobin  party  as  the 
cause,  became  from  day  to  day  more  alarming  until  the  first 
of  the  present  month,  on  which  day  a  very  numerous  col- 

1  American  5  per  cent  stock  was  quoted  at  92,  though  the  interest  was  nearly 
due.  In  June  they  reached  97  @  98  ex  interest. 


1795]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  327 

lection  of  people  forced  the  doors  of  the  Convention,  filled 
the  Hall  of  its  session  for  several  hours,  interrupted  every 
member  who  addressed  them  by  vociferations  for  bread,  and 
finally  retired  upon  information  that  the  armed  force  of 
Paris  was  marching  to  the  relief  of  the  Convention.  When 
the  freedom  of  deliberation  was  restored  to  the  Assembly 
they  declared  the  city  of  Paris  to  be  in  a  state  of  siege,  and 
gave  the  command  of  the  Parisian  army  to  General  Piche- 
gru,  who  happened  then  to  be  in  Paris,  where  he  had  re 
cently  arrived  to  concert  arrangements  for  the  ensuing  cam 
paign,  previous  to  his  assuming  the  command  of  the  Army 
of  Rhine  and  Moselle.  The  most  liberal  extension  was 
given  to  his  powers  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  order  and 
tranquility,  but  this  special  authority  was  to  continue  only 
so  long  as  the  danger  which  existed.1 

The  process  which  had  been  carried  on  with  certain  for 
malities  against  the  four  members  2  of  the  former  Com 
mittees  was  abruptly  broken  off,  and  a  decree  was  passed 
that  they  should  be  immediately  transported  out  of  the 
Republic. 

Eight  members  among  the  most  violent  of  the  remaining 
Jacobins  were  ordered  to  be  arrested  and  sent  to  the  castle 
of  Ham  in  Picardy,  and  although  every  effort  was  made  to 
prevent  the  execution  of  these  decrees  yet  it  was  finally 
effected,  and  on  the  5th  instant  nine  more  members  of  the 
Convention  were  ordered  under  arrest.  From  the  most 
recent  accounts  it  appears  that  the  public  tranquility  is 
restored,  and  that  General  Pichegru  was  on  the  point  of 
setting  out  to  join  the  army. 

The  object  of  those  by  whom  this  insurrection  was  insti 
gated  is  generally  said  to  have  been  the  dissolution  of  the 

1  Insurrection  of  12  Germinal  (April  i),  the  reaction  from  the  Jacobin  "terror." 

2  Barrere,  Collot  d'llerbois,  Billaud  Varennes  and  Vadier. 


328  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

Convention.  It  is  probable  that  the  subsequent  purpose 
was  very  different  among  those  who  combined  together  in 
this  transaction ;  that  of  the  Jacobins  to  restore  the  reign  of 
popular  societies  and  Revolutionary  Committees,  and  that 
of  the  Royalists  to  crown  the  infant  prisoner  in  the  Temple. 
That  a  plan  of  the  latter  kind  was  connected  with  the  events 
of  that  day  appears  probable  from  various  circumstances. 
I  have  already  mentioned  the  symptoms  of  sedition  and  prel 
ude  to  insurrection,  which  took  place  at  the  same  moment 
throughout  this  province.  It  is  now  known  that  it  appeared 
equally  in  the  other  provinces  of  this  Republic,  and  it  was 
on  the  same  day  and  at  the  same  hour  when  the  attack  was 
made  upon  the  Convention  at  Paris.  What  connection 
it  had  with  any  Prussian  negotiation  now  on  foot  is  impossi 
ble  for  me  to  discover.  The  armistice  between  the  Prussian 
and  French  armies  had  at  that  time  commenced.  The 
French  had  quitted  the  Prussian  territories  beyond  the 
Rhine  on  the  frontiers  of  this  country.  The  Prussian  army 
under  General  Mollendorf  was  marching  into  Westphalia. 
A  report  was  propagated  with  a  confidence  which  seemed 
to  make  the  very  improbability  of  the  fact  an  argument  for 
its  truth,  that  the  French  armies  in  this  country  would 
immediately  withdraw,  and  that  the  Prussians  were  already 
within  this  territory. 

This  conjuration  of  Prussians  was  it  seems  equally  used 
at  Paris,  where  it  was  reported  there  were  30,000  of  them 
in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  only  four  miles  out  of  the  city ; 
and  absurd  as  the  story  was,  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Surety  General  thought  it  necessary  to  go  personally 
to  the  place  in  order  to  ascertain  what  was  the  fact. 

There  is  indeed  a  negotiation  of  public  notoriety  proceed 
ing  between  French  and  Prussian  ministers  at  Basle,  and  the 
present  armistice  is  generally  supposed  to  be  simply  prelimi- 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  329 

nary  to  the  conclusion  of  a  peace.  If  the  hopes  of  the 
Orangeists  or  the  fears  of  the  Patriots  here,  hopes  and  fears 
neither  of  which  are  avowed,  but  which  neither  party  can 
disguise,  could  be  admitted  as  proofs,  it  would  be  certain 
that  the  situation  of  this  country  is  the  principal  object  of 
their  negotiations.  In  every  other  respect  the  parties  are 
supposed  to  be  agreed. 

The  hopes  of  the  ancient  Court  party  are  that  the  French 
by  the  treaty  will  stipulate  to  withdraw  their  troops  and, 
without  interfering  with  the  affairs  of  this  people,  merely 
abandon  the  party  triumphant  hitherto  by  their  protection. 
This  is  all  they  wish,  and  they  are  perfectly  sanguine  that 
in  such  case  the  Stadtholdcr  would  be  restored  and  the 
present  government  annihilated  in  less  than  a  week  of  time. 

On  the  other  hand  the  plenipotentiaries  have  not  been 
received  by  the  Convention,  and  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety  with  whom  they  are  negotiating  demand  conditions 
to  the  conclusion  of  the  alliance  almost  impossible  to  per 
form,  and  which  have  given  an  alarm  to  the  Patriots, 
which  is  the  more  plainly  seen  from  the  endeavours  to  con 
ceal  it.  One  hundred  millions  of  guilders  to  be  paid  in 
specie,  a  loan  of  an  equal  sum,  the  ships  which  compose  the 
relics  of  their  navy,  the  fortresses  on  their  frontiers,  such 
are  the  demands  which  though  now  reduced  by  one-half 
are  still  considered  as  an  intolerable  price  for  an  alliance  that 
is  indispensable.  Yet  even  these  terms  will  be  submitted 
to,  grievous  as  they  are,  if  the  alternative  is  to  be  abandoned 
to  their  own  defence.  The  French  government  can  un 
doubtedly  prescribe  its  own  conditions,  but  if  they  insist 
upon  receiving  even  the  one  hundred  millions,  they  must 
promise  the  services  of  their  armies  here  to  ensure  the 
collection  of  the  money. 

The  disunion  among  the  people  here  and  their  dissatis- 


330  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

faction  with  the  government  as  it  now  stands  increase  from 
day  to  day.  The  calling  of  a  national  convention  is  yet 
much  talked  of,  but  the  present  possessors  of  government  do 
not  appear  anxious  to  be  relieved  from  their  burden  of  public 
authority,  or  to  lay  aside  the  extraordinary  weight  of  re 
sponsibility  that  rests  upon  men  who,  under  a  semblance 
of  popular  election  not  remarkably  accurate  or  regular,  have 
torn  up  by  the  roots  an  ancient  Constitution,  and  established 
in  its  stead  a  temporary  dominion,  equally  variant  from  the 
former  practice  and  the  present  theory,  a  dominion  the 
measures  of  which  must  perpetually  recur  for  justification 
or  excuse  to  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  which  nothing  but 
the  present  prospect  of  its  speedy  termination  renders  for 
a  moment  tolerable. 

At  any  rate,  and  under  any  course  of  events  now  within 
the  bounds  of  probability,  this  Republic  may  be  said  to  be 
irretrievably  ruined.  For  besides  the  sums  required  by 
France,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  millions  of  guilders 
are  necessary  to  supply  the  payment  of  arrearages  due  by 
the  former  government.  With  a  commerce  stagnated,  with 
manufactures  scarcely  extant,  with  public  payments  sus 
pended,  with  a  country  which  has  just  suffered  the  invasion 
of  an  enemy,  and  the  most  destructive  protection  of  an  ally, 
subjected  at  once  to  ravages  of  war  and  the  ruin  of  inun 
dations,  with  a  people  divided  into  two  parties,  nearly 
equal,  inveterate  against  nothing  so  much  as  one  another, 
with  a  dominant  party  discordant  among  themselves  and  a 
national  character  timid,  irresolute,  averse  to  sacrifices  and 
considering  property  as  the  most  precious  of  all  human 
blessings,  the  most  sanguine  Patriot  can  discover  in  the 
future  destiny  of  this  country  nothing  but  subjection,  aggra 
vated  by  the  recollection  of  its  former  glories,  and  wretched 
ness,  embittered  by  the  memory  of  its  former  opulence. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  331 

The  expedition  from  Toulon  supposed  to  have  been  in 
tended  against  Corsica  is  abandoned.  A  partial  engagement 
between  the  French  and  English  squadrons  in  the  Mediter 
ranean  has  taken  place.  The  former  have  lost  two  ships 
of  the  line  and  taken  one. 

The  misunderstanding  between  the  courts  of  St.  Peters 
burg  and  Berlin  becomes  more  accredited  from  day  to  day, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  King  of  Prussia  has  reason  to 
take  umbrage  from  a  negotiation,  the  object  of  which  is  an 
alliance  between  Austria,  Russia  and  Great  Britain. 

It  is  this  day  reported  that  a  courier  has  arrived,  bringing 
to  the  French  Representatives  in  this  place  intelligence, 
that  a  peace  has  been  concluded  between  the  Republic  of 
France  and  the  King  of  Prussia.1 

I  received  two  days  since  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pinckney  of 
March  3Oth,  in  which  he  mentions  his  intention  to  proceed 
in  about  a  fortnight  from  that  time  upon  his  mission  to 
Madrid.  He  sent  me  by  the  same  conveyance  a  packet 
from  the  Department  of  State  containing  the  newspapers 
to  the  I9th  of  December. 

I  have  the  honor  &c. 

TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  April  25,  1795. 

It  has  not  been  without  difficulty  that  the  ardour  of  the 
popular  Societies  has  been  suppressed  by  the  superior 
energy  of  their  new  ally's  friendly  counsels.  These  popular 
Societies  seem  destined  every  where  to  grow  as  a  monstrous 
wen  upon  the  body  of  Liberty.  In  this  country  there  is 
scarce  a  town  or  village  ever  so  small  in  which  they  have 

1  A  treaty  was  signed  April  5. 


332  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

not  sprung  up  since  the  Revolution ;  but  hitherto  they  have 
been  harmless,  because  they  have  been  impotent.  When 
the  French  armies  entered  the  province  of  Holland,  the  com 
missioners  of  the  Convention  published  a  proclamation 
promising  to  respect  the  independence  of  the  Batavian 
people,  but  declaring  at  the  same  time  that  they  would 
repress  all  excesses  between  the  inhabitants.  The  only  occa 
sions  upon  which  they  have  been  obliged  to  carry  this  de 
termination  into  effect  has  been  furnished  by  the  popular 
Societies. 

It  has  been  more  than  once  proposed  to  me,  and  even 
urged  upon  me  to  become  a  member  of  that  which  has  been 
formed  in  this  place.  I  have  excused  myself  upon  the 
ground  of  being  a  stranger,  and  of  the  impropriety  which 
I  should  commit  in  taking  any  part  personally  in  the  politics 
of  the  country.  This  answer  has  been  sufficient,  but  not 
satisfactory.  The  Patriots  here  say  that  they  are  our  only 
friends  ;  that  the  Orange  party  detest  us,  and  therefore  that 
we  are  not  equitable  in  preserving  a  neutrality  between 
them. 

As  to  the  dispositions  of  the  Orangeists,  there  is  too  much 
truth  in  the  assertion  of  their  adversaries.  The  Court  party, 
and  all  the  former  governing  party  here,  never  look  upon 
the  United  States  but  with  eyes  of  terror  and  aversion, 
sometimes  shaded  with  a  veil  of  affected  indifference,  and 
sometimes  attempted  to  be  disguised  under  a  mask  of  respect 
and  veneration.  I  speak  not  of  an  universal  sentiment. 
There  are  exceptions  among  the  thinking  and  respectable 
part  of  the  faction ;  but  my  reference  is  to  the  general  senti 
ment  of  that  class.  I  have  had  repeated  opportunities  of 
observing  it,  and  if  the  situation  of  the  whole  party  had  been 
such  as  to  admit  of  any  sentiment  relative  to  them  but  com 
passion,  I  believe  I  should  have  been  disposed  before  this 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  333 

to  return  them  all  their  gall,  and  to  exult  in  the  foundation 
of  their  fears.  But  their  humiliations,  from  the  time  when 
I  arrived  to  this  day,  have  been  such  as  would  disarm  any 
enmity  but  that  of  party.  I  have  therefore  invariably 
avoided  every  act  that  could  be  charged  with  partiality 
favorable  to  the  Patriots,  as  against  the  others,  not  from 
regard  to  them,  but  to  my  own  duty.1 

It  was,  therefore,  unnecessary  for  me  to  look  for  motives 
to  justify  my  refusal,  to  the  principles  upon  which  I  have  an 
aversion  to  political  popular  Societies  in  general.  To  de 
stroy  an  established  power  these  Societies  are  undoubtedly 
an  efficacious  instrument.  But  in  their  nature  they  are  fit 
for  nothing  else,  and  the  reign  of  Robespierre  has  shewn 
what  use  they  make  of  power  when  they  obtain  its  exer 
cise.  .  .  . 

Our  American  Jacobins,  I  imagine,  will  be  puzzled  to  fix 
upon  their  creed  as  to  French  affairs.  I  question  whether 
they  will  give  at  full  length  the  debates  in  the  Convention 
of  the  present  time.  If  they  do,  you  will  perceive  that 
Jacobin  Clubs,  Sans  Culottism,  Demagogic  (if  we  have  no 
word  to  express  this  idea,  it  is  not  for  want  of  the  thing,) 
and  all  the  madness  and  all  the  hypocrisy,  which  it  was  so 
long  a  fashion  to  profess  and  to  admire,  are  now  rated  at 
their  true  value.  There  is  however  one  fundamental 
political  error,  from  which  France  has  not  yet  recovered ; 
it  is  the  unqualified  submission,  and  the  unwise  veneration 
for  the  opinion  publique,  which  is  in  its  nature  inconsistent 
with  any  regular  permanent  system  of  government  or  of 
policy.  Until  they  have  the  courage  to  explode  this  doc 
trine,  they  will  not  only  be  without  a  constitution,  but 
totally  destitute  of  the  means  of  forming  one.  .  .  . 

1  Adams,  Memoirs,  February  12,  1795. 


334  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF    STATE 

No.  35  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

AMSTERDAM,  May  ist,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

The  immediate  destiny  of  this  country  remains  unsettled, 
and  as  no  events  of  material  importance  become  public, 
there  is  little  intelligence  to  be  given  that  deserves  communi 
cation.  The  fate  of  this  country  and  indeed  of  all  Europe 
appears  to  be  suspended  upon  operations,  the  course  of 
which  is  not  at  present  discovered.  Curiosity,  faction,  and 
interest  are  busied  in  every  part  of  Europe  to  penetrate,  to 
color,  and  to  invent  measures  of  policy  for  the  sovereigns  of 
this  hemisphere.  Every  hour  of  the  day  has  its  rumor, 
which  becomes  more  or  less  accredited,  and  among  the  nu 
merous  and  contradictory  reports  which  are  all  circulated 
with  the  same  degree  of  confidence,  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  distinguish  between  those  which  are  founded  in  truth,  and 
those  that  are  false. 

My  last  letters  have  mentioned  the  circumstance  of  at 
tempts  at  sedition,  practised  at  the  same  time  on  the  first 
day  of  the  last  month  at  Paris  and  Amsterdam,  as  well  as 
in  many  other  parts  of  France  and  Holland.  The  immediate 
occasion  which  produced  the  riotous  symptoms  here  was  a 
report,  that  peace  had  been  concluded  between  France  and 
the  King  of  Prussia,  and  that  the  French  had  by  the  treaty  at 
least  determined  to  abandon  the  party  who  have  recently 
under  their  auspices  effected  a  revolution  of  government 
here.  It  was  indeed  true  that  at  that  time  a  treaty  of  peace 
was  upon  the  point  of  conclusion  between  those  two  powers, 
and  that  it  has  since  been  signed  and  ratified.  But  its 
public  articles  contain  no  arrangement  whatever  relative 
to  this  Republic.  It  is  probable  that  the  secret  articles 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  335 

are  equally  silent  upon  the  subject,  or  that  they  postpone 
the  definitive  arrangement  until  the  period  of  a  general 
pacification. 

But  the  present  government  find  themselves  very  much 
distressed  by  the  situation  of  their  affairs.  The  alliance 
with  France  which  they  have  been  so  long  soliciting  is  not 
made;  the  conditions  for  it  amount  to  no  less  than  a  con 
siderable  dismemberment  of  a  territory  already  so  small  as 
to  be  very  ill  qualified  to  suffer  diminution.  The  mutual 
dissatisfaction  between  the  parties  is  daily  increasing.  The 
demands  which  have  been  made  by  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety  as  the  basis  of  the  alliance  are  so  great,  so  burdensome 
to  the  interests,  and  so  derogatory  to  the  independence  of 
the  people,  that  the  opinion  is  not  without  plausibility, 
which  supposes  they  are  intended  only  for  the  purpose  of 
postponing  any  positive  engagement  whatever,  and  that 
the  French  policy  is  to  keep  the  affairs  of  this  country  really 
in  their  own  hands,  so  that  they  may  be  at  any  time  arranged 
in  such  a  manner  as  may  be  most  advantageous  to  the  in 
terest  of  France. 

The  King  of  Prussia,  besides  his  intimate  and  double 
connection  with  the  Stadtholderian  family,  is  with  Great 
Britain  bound  by  the  treaty  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  this  Republic  as  it  was  settled  in  1787.  The  party  of  the 
former  government  here  became  more  and  more  sanguine 
in  their  hopes  that  he  will  restore  the  Stadtholder  by  means 
of  an  armed  force.  They  are  still  convinced  that  it  has  been 
a  subject  of  negotiation  in  the  late  treaty,  and  that  the 
French  have  by  secret  articles  consented  to  the  return  of 
the  Stadtholder.  The  universal  opinion  of  the  party  is  in 
itself  of  no  weight.  The  utmost  extravagance  of  a  fairy  tale 
is  the  essence  of  probability,  in  comparison  with  the  stories 
which  these  people  receive  and  propagate  with  equal  eager- 


336  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

ness  every  hour  of  the  day.  But  in  this  instance  there  are 
circumstances  which  serve  to  give  at  least  a  color  of  plausi 
bility  to  their  hopes.  The  most  important  of  these  cir 
cumstances  are  the  difficulty  raised  against  the  conclusion 
of  the  French  alliance  and  the  conduct  of  the  King  of  Prussia. 
With  respect  to  the  first  I  have  mentioned  the  reasoning 
that  is  held  ;  the  latter  has  certainly  a  suspicious  appearance 
to  say  no  more.  The  army  under  General  Mollendorf  is 
stationed  in  Westphalia,  close  upon  the  frontiers  of  this 
country  and  within  three  days  march  of  Amsterdam.  The 
question  is  why  has  that  Army  been  placed  there  ?  It  is 
not  an  usual  station  for  an  army,  and  since  the  peace  with 
France  they  cannot  be  left  there  to  protect  the  territory, 
since  that  can  be  in  no  danger.  The  conclusion  drawn  from 
this  argument  is,  that  this  army  is  destined  to  restore  the 
Stadtholder. 

There  is  a  rumor  current  at  the  Hague  of  a  fact  still  more 
decisive.  The  present  States  General  have  sent  letters  of 
recall  to  most  of  the  public  Ministers  of  the  former  govern 
ment,  and  among  others  to  Mr.  de  Reede,  the  Minister  at 
Berlin.  The  report  is,  that  when  he  presented  those  letters 
to  the  King  of  Prussia  his  Majesty  told  him  to  pay  no  sort 
of  attention  to  them,  that  he  should  still  consider  him  as  the 
Minister  of  the  United  Provinces,  that  he  did  not  acknowl 
edge  the  present  pretended  government  of  this  country, 
and  required  him  to  give  them  notice  of  it.  Whether  this 
account  is  accurate  or  not  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascer 
tain,  but  I  have  reason  to  suppose  it  not  without  founda 
tion. 

The  reasoning  upon  these  premises  stands  thus.  The 
King  of  Prussia  is  bound  by  the  treaty  to  guaranty  the 
ancient  Constitution  of  this  country,  that  is  to  protect  the 
Stadtholder.  The  French  have  expelled  the  Stadtholder, 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  337 

and  the  present  government  have  abolished  the  office.  But 
France  and  Prussia  have  made  a  peace ;  that  peace  necessa 
rily  implies  either  that  France  shall  abandon  the  Dutch 
Patriots,  or  that  Prussia  shall  abandon  the  Stadtholder. 
The  conduct  of  both  parties  furnishes  evidence  that  the 
former  has  been  done.  The  French  government  avoids 
all  engagements  with  the  Patriots,  which  can  entitle  them 
to  demand  a  continuance  of  assistance.  The  King  of 
Prussia  formally  refuses  to  recognize  the  present  govern 
ment  there,  and  has  sent  a  powerful  army  to  be  ready  when 
ever  he  shall  think  proper  to  enforce  his  disavowal. 

These  circumstances  have  perhaps  contributed  to  main 
tain  and  to  strengthen  the  opinion  which  is  very  common 
here  and  in  France,  that  the  governments  of  that  country 
and  of  Prussia  .are  agreed  upon  the  restoration  of  the  Stadt 
holder  and  of  the  former  government  here.  But  on  the  other 
hand  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  has  most 
explicitly  declared  that  the  rumor  was  utterly  destitute  of 
foundation,  and  that  it  was  invented  and  propagated  by  a 
calumny  equally  malignant  and  absurd.  It  is  also  said  to 
be  as  unequivocally  for  the  interest  of  Prussia,  that  the 
Patriots  here  should  be  supported,  as  it  is  for  that  of  France. 
The  restoration  of  the  Stadtholder  would  only  give  these 
provinces  again  to  Great  Britain.  This  is  well  known  to  the 
Prussian  Cabinet  by  experience.  Since  the  Revolution 
of  1787  the  British  government  has  been  much  more  absolute 
at  the  Hague  than  in  London,  whereas  that  of  Prussia,  so  far 
from  possessing  the  smallest  particle  of  influence,  has  been 
repeatedly  unable  to  obtain  justice  upon  several  complaints. 
Prussia  might  have  prevented  in  all  probability  the  success 
of  the  French  armies  and  their  arrival  at  Amsterdam,  had 
she  been  so  disposed,  and  it  is  the  utmost  extravagance  to 
suppose  that  what  neither  of  the  two  powers  would  do, 


338  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

merely  to  avoid  or  prevent  the  expulsion  of  the  Stadtholder, 
they  should  now  have  agreed  to  for  his  restoration. 

I  am  informed  from  persons  to  whom  the  true  state  of 
affairs  is  certainly  known,  that  the  alliance  with  France  is 
expected  to  be  brought  to  a  conclusion  within  a  week  or  ten 
days.  Should  this  expectation  be  realized,  the  present 
order  of  things  in  this  country  will  doubtless  acquire  a  stabil 
ity  which  it  has  hitherto  wanted.  If  it  should  continue  to 
be  delayed,  the  rumors  and  suspicions  I  have  mentioned  will 
acquire  some  small  degree  of  probability.  It  is  at  least 
certain,  as  I  have  already  had  the  honor  of  writing  you  more 
than  once,  that  the  present  administration  will  accept  the 
treaty  upon  any  conditions  be  they  what  they  may,  and 
therefore  if  the  Treaty  is  not  soon  finished,  it  will  be  because 
the  French  government  are  determined  not  to  conclude. 

The  national  sentiment  in  this  country  is  universally  sub 
ordinate  to  the  spirit  of  party.  On  my  arrival  here  I  was 
somewhat  surprised  to  see  an  invaded  country,  in  which 
one  half  the  nation  was  panting  for  the  success  of  the  in 
vaders,  and  placing  the  summit  of  their  happiness  in  being 
conquered.  The  actors  have  since  changed,  but  the  scene 
is  the  same ;  and  I  still  see  one  half  the  nation  whose  only 
hope  consists  in  the  prospect  of  being  conquered  again.  The 
hatred  of  the  opposite  faction  is  stronger  than  the  love  of 
country,  and  this  political  passion  is  so  universal,  that  the 
only  individuals  I  have  met  with  who  could  be  named  as 
exceptions  are  equally  obnoxious  to  both  parties. 

The  European  horizon,  which  has  for  a  moment  had  the 
appearance  of  clearing  up,  seems  at  present  to  threaten  a 
deeper  gloom  than  ever.  Russia  is  said  to  be  upon  the  point 
of  a  rupture  with  the  Turks  and  with  Sweden,  perhaps  with 
Prussia.  The  Baron  de  Stael  has  been  received  by  the  Na 
tional  Convention,  as  ambassador  extraordinary  from  the 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  339 

King  of  Sweden  with  the  French  Republic.  The  Russian 
system  is  well  known,  and  although  it  must  eventually 
clash  with  that  of  Great  Britain,  it  is  supposed  that  those 
two  powers  are  like  to  unite  from  the  coincidence  of  their 
present  immediate  pursuits.  Thus  the  empire  of  the  earth 
and  of  the  ocean  is  to  be  attained  in  concert,  and  divided 
by  agreement,  and  the  question  which  of  the  parties  shall 
eventually  grasp  the  whole  to  be  left  for  the  decision  of 
futurity. 

I  have  the  honor  &c. 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  May  4,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

Air.  Wilcox  has  not  yet  been  here,  but  sent  me  from  Ham 
burg  your  favor  of  February  II,  which  was  the  first  letter  I 
have  been  happy  enough  to  receive  from  you  since  we  left 
America.  When  he  comes  here,  I  shall  be  happy  to  show 
him  every  civility  in  my  power. 

It  is  extremely  pleasing  to  hear  that  the  elections  for  the 
ensuing  completion  of  the  Senate  have  been  so  favorable.  I 
believe  the  time  is  approaching,  when  even  the  triple  brass 
of  political  impudence  will  melt  away  before  the  wisdom  of 
the  pacific  and  neutral  system,  which  struggled  with  so 
many  interests  and  so  many  passions  before  it  could  gain  a 
firm  establishment.1  Only  one  letter  from  me  had  been 

1  "All  the  clouds  which  appeared  to  be  gathering  so  thick  round  our  horizon 
seem  to  be  dispersing,  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  again,  during  the  present  European 
convulsions  be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  sliding  or  being  drawn  into  the  war.  The 
system  of  neutrality,  which  struggled  so  hard  with  foreign  influence,  foreign  inso 
lence  and  injustice,  as  well  as  with  internal  faction  and  rapacity,  before  it  could 
obtain  a  solid  and  immovable  footing,  has  proved  as  glorious  to  the  honor,  as  it 
has  been  advantageous  to  the  interests  of  the  United  States.  There  never  was 
a  war  more  ruinous  than  the  present  has  been  to  all  the  parties  engaged  in  it. 


340  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

received  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  when  you  wrote.  I  had 
at  that  time  written  nearly  thirty,  twenty  of  which  might 
have  reasonably  been  supposed  by  me  to  have  arrived  on 
the  nth  of  February.  I  have  sent  my  letters  not  only  by 
every  vessel  that  has  been  known  to  me  from  this  country, 
(and  I  have  taken  particular  pains  to  be  informed  of  every 
opportunity,)  but  from  France,  from  England,  from  Ham 
burg  and  from  Bremen.  How  many  of  my  letters  miscarry 
in  the  conveyance  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  say;  but  the 
state  of  Europe  since  I  came  here,  and  especially  the  situa 
tion  of  this  country,  have  been  such  as  renders  the  trans 
mission  of  letters  extremely  precarious.  For  the  last  four 
months  almost  we  have  been  secluded  from  the  regular  means 
of  communication  with  all  Europe  excepting  France,  and 
no  dependence  to  be  placed  upon  the  security  of  that. 
Nothing  can  be  committed  to  post  offices,  where  the  practice 
of  reading  the  letters  is  so  openly  professed,  that  nobody 
thinks  of  sealing  a  paper  sent  through  that  channel.  En- 
Sweden  and  Denmark  are  the  only  European  powers  of  any  magnitude,  that  have 
been  able  to  preserve  their  nationality,  and  they  are  now  reaping  largely  the  bene 
fits  of  so  wise  a  policy. 

"It  is  to  the  example  of  the  American  government  that  they  are  indebted  for  hav 
ing  preserved  it,  and  this  fact  is  incontestible,  for  I  have  heard  it  avowed  without 
hesitation  by  some  of  their  official  characters,  certainly  well  acquainted  with  the 
truth."  To  Dr.  Thomas  Welsh,  April  26,  1795.  Ms. 

"A  little  wisdom  and  a  little  moderation  is  all  we  want  to  secure  a  continuance 
of  the  blessings,  of  which  faction,  intrigue,  private  ambition  and  desperate  fortunes 
have  concurred  in  exertions  to  deprive  us.  The  government  of  the  United  States 
need  not  even  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  posterity,  whose  benedictions  will  infallibly 
follow  those  measures  which  were  the  most  opposed.  The  voice  of  all  Europe 
already  pronounces  their  justification;  the  nations  which  have  been  grappling 
together  with  the  purpose  of  mutual  destruction,  feeble,  exhausted,  and  almost 
starving,  detest  on  all  sides  the  frantic  war  they  have  been  waging;  those  who  have 
had  the  wisdom  to  maintain  a  neutrality  have  reason  more  than  ever  to  applaud 
their  policy,  and  some  of  them  may  thank  the  United  States  for  the  example  from 
which  it  was  pursued."  To  Abigail  Adams,  May  16,  1795.  Ms. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  341 

trusting  dispatches  to  the  care  of  individuals  is  but  little 
more  safe.  It  exposes  them  often  to  delays,  to  carelessness, 
and  even  to  total  failure.  With  all  these  inconveniences  I 
have  sent  since  my  arrival  nearly  forty  letters  to  the  Depart 
ment  of  State  alone,  and  shall  continue  to  write  by  every 
opportunity  that  occurs  from  hence,  and  as  frequently  as 
may  consist  with  common  prudence  through  France  and 
England. 

The  information  that  my  first  letter  was  satisfactory,  was 
extremely  pleasing  to  me,  because  it  shows  that  it  was  re 
ceived  with  an  indulgence  which  all  my  correspondence  will 
need.  I  have,  indeed,  had  little  apprehension  of  incurring 
the  censure  of  writing  too  little.  My  principal  fear  has  been 
lest  the  charge  of  an  opposite  fault  should  be  applicable,  that 
of  repeating  many  times  the  same  observations,  and  descend 
ing  too  much  into  the  detail  of  minute  circumstances.  In 
spite  of  the  best  possible  inclination,  too,  and  notwithstand 
ing  admonition  from  you  and  intimation  from  Mr.  Randolph, 
I  have  sometimes  given  a  latitude  to  opinions  upon  actors 
and  events,  which  perhaps  will  be  thought  indiscreet.  How 
ever  this  may  be,  I  presume  the  style  of  my  correspondence 
must  be  tolerably  well  known  by  this  time,  and  if  any  mate 
rial  variation  is  desired,  it  will  doubtless  be  intimated  to 
me. 

The  political  sufferings  of  Messrs.  Van  Staphorst  had  no 
more  effect  to  the  detriment  of  our  credit  than  their  present 
power  has  in  its  favor.1  It  did  not,  indeed,  affect  their  per- 

1  Of  Van  Staphorst  and  Hubbard  he  wrote  to  Short,  April  18,  1795  :  "The  house 
remains  as  usual ;  but  the  member  of  it,  who  was  so  lately  compelled  to  leave 
Amsterdam  and  seek  refuge  in  voluntary  banishment,  was  at  the  time  when  your 
letter  was  written  a  member  of  the  municipal  government  of  the  city,  and  is  now 
in  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  province.  Revolutions  you  know  are  the  order 
of  the  day."  On  Hubbard's  attempt  to  go  to  England  see  Adams,  Memoirs,  May 
6-8,  1795. 


342  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

sonal  credit  or  property.  Mr.  Nicholas  van  Staphorst,  who 
on  my  arrival  here  had  privately  withdrawn  from  the  pursuit 
of  the  then  government,  is  now  a  member  of  the  States 
General  and  employed  in  some  of  the  most  important  execu 
tive  committees.  He  is  one  of  the  most  respectable  men 
engaged  in  the  public  affairs  at  present. 

If  the  situation  of  an  American  Minister  at  the  Hague  was 
not  in  its  nature  and  on  all  common  occasions  tolerably 
insignificant,  it  would  have  been  rendered  so  by  the  partic 
ular  situation  of  the  country  since  I  have  been  in  it.  When 
I  first  arrived  the  government  was  an  agonizing  patient  in 
the  hands  of  Lord  St.  Helens.  His  skill  was  ineffectual, 
however,  to  save ;  the  patient  soon  expired,  but  its  soul 
survives  and  waits  in  impatient  expectation  of  a  glorious 
resurrection.  The  very  name  of  Anglomane  had  been  long 
since  entirely  lost.  I  assure  you,  I  have  not  heard  the  word 
pronounced  since  I  have  been  in  the  country.  And  indeed 
as  the  circumstances  were,  that  name  would  have  been 
ridiculous.  As  well  might  the  Helots  of  Lacedaemon  have 
been  called  Spartomanes. 

At  that  time  my  situation  was  as  unpleasant  as  it  was 
unmeaning.  It  was  impossible  for  me  not  to  perceive  that 
I  was  surrounded  with  that  sort  of  malevolence,  which  a 
West  India  faithful  African  may  be  supposed  to  bear 
/towards  the  enemy  of  his  master.  It  appeared  in  every 
shape.  It  was  shown  by  the  whole  hierarchy  of  servitude, 
from  the  President  of  the  States  General  to  the  hairdresser, 
from  the  General  Pensionary  to  the  laquais  de  louage.  To 
this  general  fact  the  only  total  exception  that  I  can  mention 
was  the  Stadtholder  himself.  I  had  no  business  to  transact 
with  him,  saw  him  only  as  a  point  of  form,  and  not  more 
than  three  or  four  times.  I  had  every  reason  to  be  satis 
fied  with  his  reception.  From  all  the  rest  it  was  ill-will, 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  343 

always  covered  with  forms  of  decency,  often  aiming  at  the 
disguise  of  politeness,  but  never  successfully  concealed. 

Since  the  arrival  of  the  French  armies  all  these  appear 
ances  have  changed.  A  friendly  disposition,  a  desire  to 
accommodate,  a  respect  and  regard  for  the  United  States 
really  felt  and  professed  with  pleasure,  distinguish  the 
present  from  the  past  possessors  of  power.  Personally  my 
situation  is  far  more  agreeable  than  it  was,  but  nothing  is 
to  be  done.1  The  country  is  conquered;  its  forms  of  inde 
pendence  have  hitherto  been  more  or  less  preserved,  but 
they  may  be  laid  aside  whenever  their  friends  shall  think 
proper,  and  have  already  been  many  times  in  contradiction 
with  the  substance.  The  government  rose  upon  the  basis 
of  French  protection ;  that  alone  continues  its  existence 
and  with  that  it  would  infallibly  vanish.  It  has  become 
almost  universally  odious  to  the  people  who  consider  it 
as  in  fact  more  oppressive  than  that  which  preceded.  The 
French  Convention  have  not  acknowledged  it,  and  may 
withdraw  their  protection,  which  is  the  breath  of  its  life, 
whenever  they  find  it  for  their  interest  so  to  do. 

The  restoration  of  the  Stadtholdcr  sooner  or  later  is 
inevitable,  and  with  him  must  come  again  the  subserviency 
to  the  mistress  of  the  sea.  In  every  political  point  of  view 
the  Republic  will  in  future  be  nothing  more  than  a  part  of 

1  "My  situation  has  indeed  been  as  you  suspected,  difficult  and  embarrassing; 
during  the  first  three  months  it  was  unpleasant.  But  I  have  not  been  under  any 
necessity  from  a  dictate  of  duty  to  quarrel  with  any  one;  and  though  I  have  had 
many  temptations,  I  have  as  yet  found  no  inducement  to  discover  any  partiality 
towards  cither  of  the  parties.  Each  of  them  has  been  in  its  turn,  not  the  pilot, 
but  the  rudder  of  the  political  ship,  and  the  persons  with  whom  I  transacted  my 
first  business  are  all  dismissed,  expelled,  or  imprisoned.  How  long  it  will  be  before 
the  course  of  the  Revolution  will  again  reverse  the  scene  of  political  exaltation  and 
abasement,  I  shall  not  pretend  to  say;  but  it  may  be  observed  with  truth  that  it 
depends  upon  the  policy  of  others,  and  not  in  the  minutest  particle  upon  any  agency 
of  their  own."  To  Charles  Adams,  May  17,  1795.  Ms. 


344  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

France  or  of  Britain.  I  am  expecting  orders  from  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  my  own  regulation,  and  until  I  shall 
receive  them  I  shall  not  venture  to  transact  any  business 
whatever.  .  .  . 

Among  the  mille  et  une  revolutions  of  France,  the  union 
of  the  Jacobins  and  the  Royalists  is  one  of  those  at  which 
our  Jacobins  will  perhaps  be,  or  affect  to  be,  the  most 
surprised.  That  they  are  at  present  united  in  the  object 
of  their  pursuit  is  unquestionable.  That  they  will  succeed 
is  far  from  being  improbable.  The  alliance  of  anarchy  and 
despotism  is  perfectly  natural,  and  the  leading  members  of 
the  Convention  are  convinced  at  length  that  Democracy 
will  answer  the  purpose  of  declamation  much  better  than 
those  of  government.  "II  faut  se  depouiller  des  prejuges 
de  la  Revolution,"  says  Thibaudeau,  "car  si  la  Revolution 
a  detruit  des  prejuges,  elle  en  a  aussi  enfante."  But  they 
have  not  yet  got  over  their  passive  obedience  to  the  opinion 
publique  of  the  moment,  and  of  course  they  still  proscribe 
what  they  adored,  and  adore  what  they  proscribed  in  the 
interval  of  a  single  day.  Such  a  system  may  properly  be 
styled  a  democracy,  but  to  call  it  a  government  would  be 
making  a  violent  misapplication  of  words. 

I  am,  &c. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  37  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  May  14,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

On  the  third  instant  the  National  Convention  authorized 
the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  to  send  two  members  on 
a  secret  mission,  and  in  consequence  of  this  authority  the 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  345 

citizens  Sieyes  l  and  Rewbell  arrived  here  on  the  8th  at  the 
same  time.  The  other  Representatives  who  had  been  in 
mission  here,2  but  had  for  some  time  past  absented  them 
selves  from  the  Hague,  returned,  and  the  General  in  Chief 
of  the  Army  of  the  North  3  came  from  Utrecht  on  the  same 
day.  A  deputation  from  the  States  General  of  four  mem 
bers  has  been  appointed  to  confer  with  the  French  Repre 
sentatives  and  has  been  very  busily  engaged  with  them 
to  the  present  day.4  The  object  of  this  negotiation  is 
secret,  and  the  conjectures  relative  to  it  are  various.  But 
as  most  probably  none  of  the  conjectures  will  be  verified  by 
the  event,  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  detail  them.  The 
circumstances  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  final  agree 
ment  upon  the  relative  situation  in  which  France  and  this 
Republic  are  to  stand  is  the  principal  point.  Hitherto  all 
is  unsettled.  The  parties  on  both  sides  were  very  much 
dissatisfied,  and  even  the  forms  of  independence  which 
alone  had  been  preserved  here  were  violated  in  so  unequiv 
ocal  a  manner  and  so  frequently,  as  to  have  become  a 
subject  of  derision.  The  present  administrators  of  this 
government  have  renewed  their  hopes  since  the  arrival  of 
the  present  representatives,  and  suppose  that  the  treaty 
which  is  to  proclaim  and  acknowledge  the  independence  of 
the  Batavian  people  will  be  concluded  in  the  course  of  very 
few  days. 

In  the  meantime  everything  here  is  in  a  state  of  stagna- 

1  He  described  Sieyes  as  appearing  "to  be  between  forty  and  fifty  years  of  age, 
middling  stature,  spare  person,  pale  countenance,  strong  features  and  bald  head; 
dress  simple,  but  neat,  manners  cool,  approaching  to  the  asperate."     To  Abigail 
Adams,  May  16,  1795.     Ms. 

2  Charles-Jean-Marie  Alquier  (1752-1826),  Charles  Cochon  de  Lapparent  (1750- 
1825),  Joseph-Charles-Etienne  Richard  (1761-1834),  and  Jean-Pierre  Ramel  (1768- 
1815).     Richard  came  from  Utrecht,  and  Cochon  from  Amsterdam. 

3  Jean-Rene  Morcau  (1758-1795).  4  The  names  are  given  on  p.  384,  infra. 


346  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

tion.  The  new  government  has  been  arrested  in  the  midst 
of  their  own  exertions.  They  have  not  been  permitted  to 
proceed  in  the  new  organization  of  their  army  and  of  their 
fleet,  and  as  the  British  have  at  this  time  the  undisputed 
command  of  the  channel  and  of  the  North  Sea,  the  commerce 
of  Holland  is  almost  entirely  intercepted. 

The  law  calling  for  all  the  gold  and  silver  of  individuals 
has  been  carried  into  execution  in  this  province,  but  as  the 
final  period  of  delivery  has  not  yet  come  it  is  not  known 
whether  it  has  been  productive  of  any  considerable  quantity. 

We  hear  but  little  at  present  of  the  intended  National 
Convention.  The  design  of  calling  one  is  not  abandoned, 
but  that  like  everything  else  depends  upon  the  conclusion 
of  the  French  alliance,  which  is  yet  in  expectation. 

The  probability  of  a  continental  peace  continues.  Spain 
has  not  yet  concluded,  but  it  is  expected  she  will  very  soon. 
A  neutrality  from  the  northern  part  of  Germany  is  secured 
by  the  Prussian  treaty. 

Two  additional  articles  contain  the  limits  agreed  upon  for 
the  preservation  of  this  neutrality.  I  have  the  honor  of 
inclosing  a  copy  of  them.  The  sieges  of  Luxemburg  and 
Mentz  appear  to  be  the  only  remaining  hostilities  that 
designate  a  state  of  war.  The  armies  of  all  the  powers  at 
war  are  everywhere  else  in  profound  tranquility.  The 
object  of  France,  it  is  said,  will  be  to  open  the  campaign 
by  directing  the  most  formidable  attack  against  the  Austrian 
dominions  in  Italy. 

At  sea  nothing  very  remarkable  has  taken  place  since  the 
action  in  the  Mediterranean.1  The  arrival  of  several  ships 
from  Brest  at  Toulon  has  once  more  given  the  superiority  of 
force  to  the  French  in  the  Mediterranean.  Lord  Hood, 

1  The  ineffective  attack  by  Vice-admiral  Hotham  upon  the  French  fleet  under 
Admiral  Martin,  March  12-14,  1795. 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  347 

however,  has  since  sailed  with  a  detachment  to  join  the 
British  fleet  there,1  which  if  effected  will  again  restore  them 
to  an  equality,  or  perhaps  a  small  superiority.  Several 
French  captains  and  other  officers  have  arrived  here.  They 
are  to  take  the  command  of  the  ships  belonging  to  this 
Republic.  This  is  one  of  the  articles  the  most  painful  to 
the  feelings  of  the  new  government  here,  and  which  it  is 
said  is  insisted  on  as  a  preliminary  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty. 

I  have  visited  the  Representatives  newly  arrived  as  has 
also  been  done  by  the  other  neutral  Ministers.  The  citi 
zen  Sieyes  in  the  course  of  conversation  inquired  what  was 
the  object  of  the  treaty  signed  by  Mr.  Jay  with  the  British 
Ministry. 

"  It  is  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  its  object  is  also  the  termina 
tion  of  differences  which  had  arisen  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Bristain."  "Relative  to  the  forts  ?"  "And  to  several 
objects  of  difference.  The  navigation  and  commerce  of  the 
United  States  had  suffered  during  the  present  war.  The  treaty 
probably  contains  arrangements  upon  the  subject."  "But  why 
is  this  treaty  still  secret?"  "It  has  not  yet  been  ratified,  and 
the  local  situation  of  the  United  States  with  respect  to  Europe 
renders  it  peculiarly  proper  that  the  ratification  should  precede 
the  publication  of  the  teaty."  "Very  well  for  the  time  necessary 
for  the  ratification,  but  after  the  time  which  is  sufficient  has  elapsed 
it  is  thought  extraordinary  that  a  treaty  of  commerce,  and  a  treaty 
which  may  also  relate  to  other  objects,  should  remain  secret. 
Among  the  public  in  Paris  there  are  people  who  make  it  a  subject 
of  speculation  and  conjecture  that  the  United  States  are  waiting 
to  see  what  the  success  of  the  war  will  be,  and  will  ratify  or  reject 
the  terms  proposed  by  the  treaty  according  as  the  events  of  that 
may  turn."  "You  know,  citizen,  that  among  the  public  in  Paris 

1  This  must  have  been  an  error,  as  Hood  was  not  in  favor  with  the  ministry  at 
this  time. 


348  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

as  among  the  public  in  all  places  there  are  people  who  speculate 
upon  every  event,  and  are  very  apt  to  draw  conclusions  utterly 
destitute  of  foundation.  The  case  is  such  in  this  instance.  The 
treaty  in  question  did  not  arrive  at  Philadelphia  until  after  the 
session  of  Congress  had  come  to  a  constitutional  close.  I  am 
informed,  however,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  has 
called  the  Senate  together  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  the 
treaty  to  their  deliberations,  and  it  has  therefore  been  merely 
the  result  of  accident  if  the  only  article  yet  public  in  Europe  is 
that  which  stipulates  that  nothing  in  the  treaty  shall  be  construed, 
so  as  to  militate  with  any  previous  engagement  of  either  party." 
"And  the  ratification  has  been  debated  by  this  time  ?"  "Or  will 
be  in  a  very  short  time." 

The  conversation  is  related  as  accurately  as  my  memory 
will  permit,  because  one  of  the  other  Representatives  spoke 
to  me  upon  the  same  subject  some  time  since,  and  these 
repeated  interrogations  indicate  either  a  suspicion,  or  an 
intention  to  be  supposed  suspicious,  that  some  stipulation 
interesting  to  France  is  contained  in  the  treaty.  .  .  . 

I  have  the  honor,  &c. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF  STATE 

No.  39  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  May  19,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

I  have  now  the  honor  of  inclosing  a  paper,  containing 
the  substance  of  the  articles  forming  the  treaty  signed  on  the 
morning  of  the  iyth  instant,  between  the  French  Repre 
sentatives  Sieyes1  and  Rewbell2  and  the  deputies  from  the 
States  General,  Paulus,  Lestevenon,  Pons3  and  Huber. 

1  Emmanuel-Joseph  Sieyes  (1748-1836). 

2  Jean-Francois  Rewbell  (1747-1807). 
*  Matthias  Pons. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  349 

The  event  serves  to  confirm  the  observation  I  have  made 
in  my  preceding  letters,  that  whatever  terms  might  be 
exacted  on  the  part  of  France  would  eventually  be  con 
sented  to  in  this  country. 

The  terms  of  this  treaty  are  as  advantageous  to  France 
and  as  burdensome  to  this  people  as  the  possibility  of  execu 
tion  will  admit.  But  from  the  habits  and  feelings  of  the 
persons  composing  the  present  administration,  Maestricht, 
Venlo,  Dutch  Flanders  and  one  hundred  millions  of  florins, 
arc  no  object  in  comparison  with  the  danger  of  a  Stadtholder. 
The  point  respecting  the  command  of  the  ships  of  war  ap 
pears  to  have  been  abandoned  ;  the  French  captains  who  had 
arrived  at  Rotterdam  have  returned.  By  the  treaty  the 
stipulation  only  purports  that  in  case  of  combined  opera 
tions  the  commander  shall  be  French.  It  is  somewhat 
questionable  whether  the  engagement  to  furnish  during  this 
campaign  twelve  ships  of  the  line  and  eighteen  frigates  for 
the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic  will  be  practicable. 

It  is  hardly  supposable  that  this  treaty  will  fail  of  obtain 
ing  an  immediate  ratification  by  the  French  National  Con 
vention.1  The  great  object  of  internal  policy  represented  in 
a  statement  dated  February  27,  to  which  I  beg  leave  to  refer, 
may  be  considered  as  effected.  The  internal  object,  the 
calling  of  a  National  Convention  to  form  a  constitution  of 
government  for  the  Batavian  people,  may  now  be  pursued. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  that  it  will  meet  with  the  earliest 
attention,  but  whether  the  plan  of  completing  this  business 
immediately  will  prevail,  or  that  of  postponing  these  politi 
cal  arrangements  until  a  time  of  peace  and  tranquility  will 
be  preferred,  is  yet  to  be  ascertained.  The  Treaty  makes 
this  country  a  party  to  the  war  with  France  against  the 
combined  powers.  The  country  is  exhausted,  and  yet  the 

1  It  was  ratified  May  27. 


350  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

most  extraordinary  exertions  are  required  of  it.  Perhaps  it 
will  be  concluded  that  the  exigencies  of  the  times  demand 
action  more  than  deliberation,  and  the  formation  of  a  con 
stitution  will  be  deferred  till  a  calmer  and  less  critical  time. 
The  pecuniary  payment  stipulated  by  one  of  the  articles 
cannot  be  made  in  the  present  exhausted  state  of  the  na 
tional  finances  without  the  adoption  of  some  extraordinary 
measures.  There  are  some  appearances  which  might  in 
duce  an  expectation  that  considerable  resources  are  con 
templated  in  the  article  of  confiscation.  Hitherto  the 
treatment  experienced  by  the  agents  and  partizans  of  the 
House  of  Orange  and  of  the  former  government  has  been 
remarkably  moderate.  The  policy  of  burying  in  oblivion 
the  differences  which  heretofore  divided  the  people  has 
been  professed  by  the  possessors  of  the  new  government, 
and  forcibly  recommended  and  inculcated  by  the  French 
representatives  and  generals.  A  different  system  it  is  now 
said  will  probably  be  pursued.  Several  persons  have 
within  these  two  days  been  arrested,  and  pamphlets  highly 
labored  and  well  written  are  published,  in  order  to  give  a 
new  direction  to  the  public  opinion. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  municipal  govern 
ment  of  Amsterdam  has  long  since  ceased  to  harmonize 
with  the  general  government  of  the  province.  The  division 
continues,  and  increases  from  day  to  day.  The  munici 
pality  of  Amsterdam  have,  therefore,  determined  to  re 
store  their  functions  to  the  people  from  whom  they  are 
supposed  to  have  received  them,  and  a  new  election  is 
proposed  speedily  to  take  place. 

The  Orange  partizans  have  not  yet  abandoned  their 
hopes ;  they  cannot  yet  persuade  themselves  that  the 
King  of  Prussia  will  leave  his  sister  and  his  daughter  to 
their  fate.  The  grounds  upon  which  their  expectations 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  351 

are  founded  have  been  mentioned  heretofore,  and  although 
the  conclusion  of  this  new  treaty  destroys  almost  entirely 
the  scaffolding  of  their  system,  the  presence  of  the  Prussian 
army  in  Westphalia  still  flatters  them  with  the  hopes  of 
being  once  more  conquered. 

The  Russian  charge  des  affaires  has  received  orders  from 
his  court  to  quit  this  place  without  taking  leave,  and  is 
gone  accordingly.  It  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  but  that  the 
events  of  the  last  campaign,  the  unparalleled  success  of  the 
French  armies,  together  with  the  change  in  the  principles 
professed  by  their  government  and  the  misfortunes  of 
Poland,  have  produced  a  great  revolution  in  the  policy  of 
almost  all  the  European  Cabinets.  The  objects  which 
were  the  original  causes  of  the  war  have  disappeared  in  the 
vortex  of  events  that  have  occurred.  The  division  of 
France,  or  the  establishment  of  a  government  in  that  coun 
try  by  external  compulsion,  is  recognized  as  a  vain  imagina 
tion.  The  dread  of  political  doctrines  is  equally  removed, 
and  the  fears  and  jealousies  which  heretofore  divided  the 
several  sovereigns  of  Europe  have  returned  in  all  their 
force,  to  sow  the  seeds  of  future  wars. 

A  distinguished  member  of  the  National  Convention 
declared  about  two  months  since,  in  a  labored  speech 
relative  to  the  negotiations  for  peace,  that  the  real  enemies 
of  the  Republic  were  Britain,  Austria  and  Russia,  and  he 
endeavored  to  prove  that  from  those  powers  so  much  was 
to  be  apprehended  by  all  the  other  in  Europe,  that  France 
must  naturally  be  the  friend  and  ally  of  all  the  rest.  The 
partition  of  Poland  appears  evidently  to  have  occasioned 
a  very  serious  difference  between  the  allies,  who  made 
the  conquest  in  conjunction.  It  has  given  an  alarm  to 
the  Turks,  to  Sweden  and  Denmark,  who  find  themselves 
henceforth  exposed  as  the  most  immediate  objects  of 


352  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

Russian  ambition.  A  variety  of  circumstances  have  con 
curred  to  prove  that  Great  Britain  and  Russia  harmonize 
in  their  present  pursuits,  and  it  is  even  affirmed  that  a  new 
alliance  has  been  formed  between  them,  in  consequence  of 
which  a  Russian  fleet  is  expected  to  be  stationed  in  the 
Baltic  during  the  present  campaign.  It  is  further  supposed 
that  a  rupture  will  very  soon  take  place  between  Russia  and 
the  King  of  Prussia.  The  reciprocal  advantage  to  be 
afforded  by  Great  Britain  is  the  abandonment  of  Poland, 
and  even  the  support  of  the  Russian  system  there.  Among 
the  circumstances  which  corroborate  these  opinions  are  the 
recall  of  the  British  Minister  who  has  heretofore  resided 
in  Poland,  and  the  present  recall  of  the  Russian  charge  des 
affaires  from  this  place. 

To  counterbalance  this  association  of  Britain,  Russia  and 
Austria,  it  is  supposed  that  the  purpose  of  the  French  govern 
ment  will  be  to  unite  against  it  together  with  their  own  efforts 
the  force  of  Prussia,  Sweden  and  the  Turkish  Empire 
against  the  continental  powers,  and  that  of  Holland,  and 
perhaps  of  Spain  against  Britain. 

It  will  be  undoubtedly  from  the  intelligence  you  will 
receive  directly  from  Paris,  and  from  the  officers  of  the 
French  government  in  America,  that  the  best  conclusion 
may  be  drawn,  whether  the  intention  of  exciting  new  enemies 
against  Great  Britain  extends  to  the  United  States.  In  the 
conversations  I  had  with  the  Representatives,  soon  after 
their  first  arrival  here,  they  all  assured  me  of  their  entire 
satisfaction  in  the  neutrality  of  the  United  States.  One  of 
them  (Richard)  expressly  said  that  the  French  government 
had  been  fully  content  with  the  assurance  they  had  received 
from  Mr.  Monroe,  that  the  treaty  signed  by  Mr.  Jay  in 
November  contained  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  engage 
ments  of  the  United  States  with  France.  It  is  not  to  be 


I79SI  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  353 

dissimulated  that  the  language  held  by  the  citizen  Sieyes 
in  the  interview  I  had  with  him  here,  and  of  which  an 
account  has  already  been  given,  is  of  a  different  complexion. 
At  the  present  moment  the  treaty  itself  may  be  more  a 
cause  of  objection  than  its  contents. 

There  is  one  circumstance  from  which  the  most  sub 
stantial  hope  of  a  general  pacification  proceeds,  and  it  is 
almost  the  only  one,  but  indicates  the  probability  of  war 
more  extensive  than  it  has  been  hitherto.  The  scarcity  of 
provisions  is  severely  felt  by  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  and 
unless  the  means  of  cultivation,  which  have  been  very  much 
reduced,  and  the  commerce  which  has  been  nearly  annihi 
lated,  should  be  restored  by  the  return  of  peace,  a  general 
famine  will  be  inevitable  in  the  course  of  the  following 
winter,  or  at  latest  by  the  ensuing  spring.  This  prospect 
appears  already  so  evidently  to  all  the  parties  that  it  may 
possibly  contribute  to  the  success  of  negotiations  which 
will,  perhaps,  not  be  interrupted  by  the  hostilities  of  the 
present  campaign.  Some  considerable  change  may  perhaps 
be  expected  in  the  internal  state  of  France,  but  what  it 
will  be  is  very  uncertain,  and  it  is  impossible  to  calculate 
whether  it  will  produce  any  alteration  whatever  in  their 
external  policy. 

With  every  sentiment  of  respect,  £c. 

TO  JOHN   ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  May  22,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

My  last  letter  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  your  favor 
of  February  n.  That  of  December  2  has  since  reached  me. 
By  the  same  opportunity  I  have  letters  from  my  brother 
Charles  of  March  12.  And  I  have  seen  Boston  papers  to 
the  ist  of  April.  Our  information  from  America  is  yet 

2A 


354  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

generally  indirect  and  our  means  of  conveyance  few,  diffi 
cult  and  uncertain. 

The  appointment  which  places  me  here  is  undoubtedly 
respectable,  much  beyond  the  line  of  my  pretensions,  and 
the  advantage  of  seeing  Europe  at  the  present  moment  is 
personally  a  subject  of  particular  gratification  to  me.  The 
situation  which  I  was  obliged  to  abandon  for  this  gave  me 
nothing,  or  very  little  in  possessions,  but  a  fair  and  rational 
prospect,  infinitely  more  pleasing  than  those  now  before  me. 
My  sacrifice  was  merely  of  an  expectancy,  but  a  very  val 
uable  one  in  every  point  of  view.  It  was  independence, 
usefulness  and  personal  consideration ;  but  above  all  the 
increasing  attachment  of  friends,  which  every  probability 
led  me  to  expect  would  be  durable.  The  benefit  of  your 
advice  and  instructions,  the  society  however  interrupted 
and  partial  of  my  mother  and  the  rest  of  the  family,  though 
I  feel  severely  the  loss  of  them,  were  yet  so  inevitable  and 
of  impossible  consistency  with  an  absence  beyond  the 
Atlantic,  that  I  do  not  reckon  them  in  the  account. 

As  it  respects  my  country  that  has  certainly  gained 
nothing  by  the  exchange.  To  speak  the  sentiments  of  my 
heart  without  equivocation,  an  American  Minister  at  the 
Hague  is  one  of  the  most  useless  beings  in  creation.  The 
whole  corps  diplomatique  here,  according  to  a  late  French 
production  of  considerable  merit,  n'est  plus  qu'une  Assemblee 
de  nouvellistes,  and  the  actor  must  have  not  an  humble 
but  a  degraded  idea  of  himself,  who  can  be  satisfied  with  the 
part  of  receiving  the  pay  of  a  nation  for  the  purpose  of 
penetrating  the  contents  of  a  newspaper. 

As  a  single  private  individual  I  flatter  myself  that  my 
mite  of  contribution  to  the  public  service  in  America  was 
more  valuable  than  any  that  I  can  render  at  present.  The 
retribution  is  equally  inconsistent  with  propriety.  At  pres- 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY   ADAMS  355 

ent  I  am  liberally  paid  for  no  service  at  all.  There  my 
only  reward  for  considerable  labor,  and  some  political 
courage,  was  abuse,  sometimes  upon  myself  which  was  of 
very  little  consequence  to  me,  but  much  more  frequently 
upon  an  object  entitled  to  all  the  veneration  of  the  whole 
people,  as  much  as  he  was  possessed  of  mine,  and  who  was 
persecuted  for  my  offences  with  a  malignancy  and  a  bru 
tality  such  as  among  mankind  is  experienced  only  by  virtue 
and  integrity;  but  which  real  crimes  and  infamy  are  too 
much  respected  ever  to  suffer. 

At  length,  after  four  months  of  suspense  upon  the  fate  of 
this  country,  a  treaty  to  acknowledge  the  independence  and 
sovereignty  of  the  Batavian  people  without  a  Stadtholder 
was  signed  on  the  i/th  instant,  by  two  members  of  the 
French  Committee  of  Public  Safety  (Rewbell  and  Sieyes), 
and  four  deputies  from  the  States  General. 

This  treaty  will  undoubtedly  be  published  in  the  Ameri 
can  newspapers  before  my  letter  can  reach  you,  and  I  hope 
it  will  be  a  subject  of  serious  reflection  to  every  American. 
It  shows  in  the  clearest  light  at  what  price  the  friendship 
and  assistance  of  France  as  a  Republic  is  estimated  by  her 
own  government.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  from  the 
commencement  of  the  war  they  have  declared  themselves 
the  enemies  of  the  Stadtholder  and  his  government,  but  the 
friends  and  allies  of  the  Dutch  people.  These  friends  and 
allies,  after  considering  this  territory  durin-g  four  months 
as  a  conquest,  and  treating  it  accordingly,  though  with  all 
possible  civility  and  some  generosity,  finally  exact  as  con 
ditions  for  acknowledging  the  liberty  and  independence  of 
their  friends  and  allies,  a  very  considerable  dismemberment 
of  territory,  a  perpetual  pledec  of  political  subserviency, 
and  one  hundred  million  of  florins  in  cash.  Non  tali  auxilio. 

These    facts    are    the    more    deserving    of    consideration, 


356  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

because  I  have  several  reasons  to  suppose  that  the  policy 
of  the  French  government  at  present  is  to  make  use  of  the 
United  States,  as  they  are  now  making  use  of  these  Prov 
inces,  that  is,  as  an  instrument  for  the  benefit  of  France, 
as  a  passive  weapon  in  her  hands  against  her  most  formi 
dable  enemy.  Being  at  a  distance  from  Paris  and  having  no 
regular  connection  with  any  members  of  that  government, 
I  am  unable  to  trace  the  causes  of  my  suspicions  to  a  very 
certain  source.  I  have  not  the  means  of  ascertaining  any 
considerable  variety  of  facts,  from  the  combination  of 
which  a  conclusion  to  warrant  any  affirmative  declaration 
could  be  drawn,  and  the  communication  with  France  itself 
is  so  liable  to  accident,  that  I  am  unable  to  correspond  with 
Mr.  Monroe  so  confidentially  as  would  be  necessary  to 
determine  how  far  my  conjectures  are  founded. 

From  the  occurrences  of  the  last  year,  it  is  certain  that  a 
prodigious  alteration  in  the  relative  position  of  the  Euro 
pean  powers  towards  one  another  has  taken  place.  The 
centre  of  combination  has  been  equally  removed  by  the 
victories  of  France  and  by  the  misfortunes  of  Poland.  The 
drunken  madness  of  political  fanaticism  has  subsided  sur 
prisingly.  The  ruin  of  France  remains  therefore  the  only 
centre  of  union  to  the  coalesced  powers,  but  this  principle 
is  no  less  repulsive  on  one  side  than  it  is  attractive  on  the 
other.  New  interests  have  arisen  to  form  different  combina 
tions  from  those  of  the  war  as  it  began,  and  they  have 
already  been  productive  of  a  considerable  revolution  of 
policy,  discovered  in  many  public  events  and  distinguishable 
from  other  circumstances. 

The  tendency  of  these  new  interests  is  to  unite  the  efforts 
of  Austria,  Russia  and  Britain,  for  the  present  moment,  in 
one  common  pursuit ;  but  it  unites  equally  all  the  rest  of 
Europe  against  them. 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  357 

This  combination  is  unquestionably  formidable,  and  it 
has  an  immense  advantage  in  the  pecuniary  resources  of 
Great  Britain.  They  remain  at  least  for  present  occasion 
in  undiminished  vigor,  while  those  of  France  are  exhausted 
in  proportion  to  the  violence  of  those  exertions  that  have 
acquired  her  splendid  triumphs. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  that  France  intends  to  unite 
against  her  three  remaining  rivals  and  enemies  as  many 
European  powers  as  possible.  The  policy  has  been  indeed 
clearly  discovered  in  speeches  made  to  the  National  Conven 
tion  by  members  of  the  Executive  Committee,  in  which 
mention  has  escaped  of  nations  "  which  had  observed 
neutrality,  wise  in  its  principle,  but  which  has  become 
insufficient,"  where  subsidies  to  be  given  for  the  purpose  of 
causing  a  diversion  have  been  suggested,  and  where  numer 
ous  objections  have  been  made  to  prove  that  Spain,  Prussia 
and  Holland  are  all  deeply  interested  in  the  future  success 
of  the  French  cause. 

The  intention  of  employing  the  United  States  likewise  as 
an  useful  enemy  to  Great  Britain  has  not  been  so  openly 
avowed.  And  long  since  the  arrival  of  the  French  armies 
in  this  country,  the  Representatives  with  whom  I  have  had 
occasion  to  converse  have  declared  themselves  to  be  entirely 
satisfied  with  the  neutrality  of  the  United  States.  They  do 
not  at  present  say  expressly  the  contrary,  but  they  observe, 
that  it  is  very  extraordinary  that  the  treaty  signed  by  Mr. 
Jay  last  November  should  yet  be  kept  secret. 

It  is  impossible  that  they  should  imagine  there  is  any 
thing  in  that  treaty  with  which  France  can  have  any  pre 
tence  to  interfere.  It  is  therefore  the  treaty  itself,  which 
does  not  suit  these  views,  because  they  consider  it  as  the 
means  of  terminating  differences,  which  their  own  interest 
leads  them  to  wish  may  terminate  in  a  rupture. 


358  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i79S 

If  these  conjectures  have  as  much  foundation  as  I  appre 
hend,  the  whole  French  influence  in  America  will  exert 
itself  with  more  than  usual  activity  to  prevent  the  ratifica 
tion  of  the  treaty,  and  to  produce  at  all  events  a  war  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  not  assuredly 
from  regard  to  our  interest,  which  they  respect  as  much  as 
they  do  that  of  their  friends  and  allies  the  Hollanders,  but 
because  they  are  sensible  of  how  much  importance  our 
commerce  is  to  Great  Britain,  and  suppose  that  the  loss 
of  it  would  make  that  nation  outrageous  for  peace,  and 
compel  the  Minister  to  make  it  upon  the  terms  they  are 
disposed  to  dictate. 

It  was  probably  the  intention  of  the  Brissotine  party,  the 
Executive  Council,  who  sent  Genet  to  America  to  involve 
the  United  States  in  a  war  with  Britain,  but  in  such  a  manner 
as  should  be  imperceptible  to  ourselves,  as  should  have  the 
appearance  of  being  entirely  a  war  of  our  own,  and  should 
leave  France  free  from  all  engagements,  in  full  liberty  to 
make  her  own  peace,  whenever  she  might  think  proper, 
and  leave  us  to  extricate  ourselves  as  we  could.  This  plan 
was  not  successful  in  its  execution,  and  perhaps  was  aban 
doned  by  the  Executive  Committee,  which  rose  upon  the 
ruins  of  the  Council.  To  them  the  neutrality  of  the  United 
States  was  at  least  as  beneficial  as  any  assistance  they  could 
expect  from  them  in  a  state  of  war,  or  at  least  by  appearing  to 
pursue  a  different  policy,  they  meant  to  make  it  an  instru 
ment  of  odium  against  the  party  they  had  then  defeated. 
That  Committee  has  been  sacrificed  in  its  turn.  Every 
thing  done  by  them  is  an  object  of  execration.  They  are 
Jacobins,  Terrorists,  Royalists,  drinkers  of  blood,  robbers, 
scourges  of  the  human  race,  everything  that  a  victorious 
party  can  make  of  one  that  is  defeated.  The  truth  of  the 
fact  seems  to  be  that  the  Brissotine  party  have  resumed 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  359 

their  superiority  in  the  Convention,  and  have  derived  among 
the  people  some  consideration,  more  from  the  detestation  of 
their  predecessors,  than  from  their  own  merits.  They  have 
resumed  the  principles  and  the  policy,  which  the  decem- 
viral  government  had  abandoned,  and  among  the  rest  per 
haps  the  design  of  fomenting  a  war  between  America  and 
Great  Britain.  They  have  sent  to  America  a  new  minister,1 
to  take  the  place  of  Fauchet ;  a  man,  who  has  been  hereto 
fore  employed  by  them  in  their  revolutionary  manoeuvres 
at  Geneva,  and  who,  as  one  of  the  Representatives  lately  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  told  me,  was  sub 
stituted  instead  of  the  other,  whose  "talents  and  experience 
are  found  to  be  not  equal  to  the  importance  of  the  mission." 

I  have  considered  it  as  an  indispensable  duty  that  I  owe 
to  my  country  to  express  to  you,  Sir,  my  ideas  and  suspi 
cions  upon  a  subject  of  so  much  importance  :  in  my  public 
correspondence  I  have  scarcely  hinted  at  them,  because 
they  are  but  suspicions,  and  because  there  is  another  source, 
from  which  more  accurate  information  is  to  be  expected, 
and  will  doubtless  be  received.  At  least  if  my  conjectures 
are  groundless  they  will  be  harmless,  because  the  state  of 
affairs  in  America  will  prove  them  to  be  fallacious.  If 
they  are  well  founded,  it  may  not  be  useless  that  the  symp 
toms  breaking  forth  in  this  quarter  of  the  world  should  be 
known  to  you,  and  combined  with  those  that  will  discover 
themselves  in  America. 

If  their  present  views  really  are  to  draw  the  United  States 
into  a  war  with  Britain,  their  only  motive  for  it  must  be 
to  accelerate  their  own  peace.  The  general  sentiment  of 
the  French  at  the  present  moment,  if  I  mistake  not,  is  less 
cordial  towards  the  Americans  than  it  has  been.  They  envy 

1  Pierre  August  Adet  (1763-1832).  See  Correspondence  of  French  Ministers 
(Turner),  728. 


360  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

us  the  immense  advantage  we  have  derived  from  our  neu 
trality  ;  they  think  we  have  grown  rich  upon  their  impover 
ishment;  that  we  have  drained  them  of  their  specie,  and 
they  do  not  scruple  to  charge  our  merchants  who  have 
supplied  their  most  urgent  necessities,  with  having  taken 
advantage  of  their  wants  to  extort  extravagant  profits  upon 
their  commerce.  Peace  has  become  an  object  of  extreme 
necessity  to  them ;  their  finances,  their  commerce,  their 
manufactures,  their  agriculture,  their  population,  all  by 
an  inseparable  chain  are  connected  in  a  dependence  upon 
the  return  of  peace.  Yet  the  brilliancy  of  their  victories, 
and  especially  the  security  of  the  prevailing  party,  make  it 
indispensably  necessary  to  them  to  insist  upon  conditions, 
to  which  their  enemies  in  the  present  state  of  affairs  will 
certainly  not  submit.  It  is  for  their  benefit  alone,  there 
fore,  that  they  wish  to  see  us  engaged,  and  should  they 
succeed  in  this  intention  the  principal,  perhaps  the  only 
use  they  will  make  of  their  success  will  be  to  obtain  more 
glorious  terms  of  peace  for  themselves. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  has  so  decidedly 
adopted  and  maintained  the  policy  of  neutrality,  and  it  has 
proved  so  advantageous  to  the  country,  that  it  is  perhaps 
an  idle  apprehension  that  can  imagine  it  will  again  be 
endangered.  Before  this  letter  reaches  you,  the  question 
upon  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  signed  in  November  will 
undoubtedly  be  decided.  The  die  will  be  cast ;  the  point 
of  peace  or  enmity  with  Britain  settled.  If  by  a  ratification 
of  the  treaty,  perhaps  a  coolness  on  the  part  of  France  will 
again  be  discernible,  but  from  which  no  ill  consequences 
whatever  are  to  be  dreaded.  If  the  treaty  should  be 
rejected,  the  French  influence  and  French  intrigue,  always 
so  active  and  powerful  among  us,  will  become  much  more 
busy  than  they  have  ever  been  before. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  361 

On  the  first  supposition  their  disappointment  will  have  no 
serious  consequence,  because  they  have  still  great  need  of 
our  supplies,  because  the  policy  of  their  government  under 
every  possible  variation  will  always  be  to  conform  the 
style  of  their  pretentions  in  their  political  relations  with 
us  to  the  degree  of  firmness  or  of  acquiescence  discovered 
on  our  part,  and  because  our  friendship  and  neutrality  must 
be  more  agreeable  and  advantageous  to  them  than  a  state 
of  variance.  Failing  in  their  favorite  object,  they  will 
eventually  content  themselves  with  that  which  they  con 
sider  as  the  next  best,  and  very  possibly  the  situation  of 
their  internal  concerns  may  once  more  make  it  the  interest 
of  a  prevailing  faction  to  alter  the  system  of  external  policy, 
in  order  by  the  restoration  of  cordiality  with  their  neighbors, 
to  cast  an  odium  upon  their  rivals  at  home. 

If  the  treaty  should  not  be  ratified,  the  French  will  exert 
themselves  for  the  purpose  of  hurrying  us  into  a  war,  which 
may  hasten  their  means  of  making  peace,  and  in  which  they 
may  be  under  no  obligation  of  making  a  common  cause  with 
us.  Their  partizans,  perhaps,  in  declamations  or  in  news 
papers  will  promise  wonders  from  their  co-operation  ;  their 
official  characters  possibly  may  employ  a  great  number  of 
what  they  call  phrases,  but  will  have  no  power  to  contract 
any  substantial  engagements  ;  we  shall  be  friends,  brothers, 
allies,  fellow-freemen,  loaded  with  all  the  tenderness  of 
family  affections  introduced  by  a  political  prosopopeia 
into  national  concerns,  and  the  final  result  of  the  whole 
matter  will  be,  that  all  this  tender  sympathy,  this  amiable 
fraternity,  this  lovely  coalescence  of  liberty,  will  leave  us 
the  advantage  of  being  sacrificed  to  their  interests,  or  of 
purchasing  their  protection  upon  the  most  humiliating  and 
burdensome  conditions,  and  at  the  same  time  of  being 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  glorying  in  our  disgrace,  and 


362  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

hailing  the  instrument  of  our  calamity  as  the  weapon  of  our 
deliverance. 

I  wish  that  the  situation  of  affairs  in  America  may  be 
such  as  shall  afford  a  full  demonstration,  that  these  are 
ideas  merely  visionary,  and  above  all  I  wish  that  we  may 
never  have  occasion  for  any  political  connections  in  Europe. 
The  alarming  prospects  of  famine,  which  threaten  every 
part  of  this  hemisphere,  may  perhaps  contribute  more  than 
any  other  circumstance  to  a  general  pacification,  which  if 
it  should  be  effected  will  in  truth  be  nothing  more  than  a 
suspension  of  arms. 

The  internal  state  of  France  is  critical,  and  will  probably 
experience  a  considerable  change  in  the  course  of  the  present 
year.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  anticipate  at  this  dis 
tance  what  turn  it  will  take.  They  are  weary  of  their 
revolutionary  government,  and  universally  convinced  that 
the  Constitution  which  has  been  accepted  can  never  be 
carried  into  execution  in  its  present  state.  As  they  do  not 
yet  venture  to  lay  it  entirely  aside,  they  have  contrived 
to  propose  a  supplementary  addition  under  the  name  of 
organic  laws.1  A  committee  of  eleven  2  members  has  been 
chosen  by  the  Convention  to  prepare  them  and  the  result 
of  their  labors  will  soon  be  presented  to  the  Assembly.  The 
weakness  of  their  present  government  is  the  principal  sub 
ject  of  complaint  at  this  time,  and  the  principles  of  modera 
tion  are  found  incompetent  to  repress  the  movements  of 
popular  indignation  and  revenge.  The  execution  of  sixteen 
persons  formerly  composing  part  of  the  revolutionary  tri 
bunal  under  the  government  of  Robespierre,  has  recently 
taken  place  at  Paris  with  the  sanction  of  legal  forms,  but 
at  Lyons  the  impatience  of  the  people  has  anticipated  the 
decision  of  justice,  and  on  the  4th  of  this  month  the  sanc- 

1  That  is,  a  new  constitution.  2  Appointed  April  23. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  363 

tuary  of  the  prisons  was  again  violated,  and  sixty  or  seventy 
persons  were  sacrificed  by  the  people,  as  an  atonement  for 
the  cruelties  of  which  they  had  been  heretofore  the  princi 
pal  agents. 
I  am,  &c. 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
No.  43  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  June  24,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

Previous  to  the  revolution  which  happened  in  this  country 
in  the  year  1787,  in  most  of  the  cities  and  villages  throughout 
the  provinces  certain  clubs  or  popular  societies  had  formed 
themselves,  similar  in  their  nature  to  those  which  have 
since  then  been  so  notorious  in  France,  and  to  those  which 
upon  their  model  have  recently  arisen  in  the  United  States. 
After  the  victory  of  the  Stadtholder  over  the  patriotic 
party  these  societies  were  prohibited  from  assembling,  and 
others,  consisting  only  of  the  partizans  of  the  House  of 
Orange,  were  substituted  in  their  stead.  Since  the  arrival  of 
the  French  armies  in  Holland  and  the  revolution  consequent 
upon  that  event,  the  Orange  societies  have  been  prohibited 
in  their  turn,  and  the  patriotic  clubs  have  been  revived. 

The  only  qualification  requisite  to  make  any  person  eligible 
as  a  member  of  these  clubs  is  that  of  being  an  unequivocal 
partizan.  They  are  composed,  therefore,  of  people  in  every 
different  situation  of  society,  and  are  very  considerable  in 
point  of  numbers.  It  has  been  indeed  considered  as  a  sort  of 
test  to  judge  of  the  patriotism  of  every  individual,  and  num 
bers  of  people  become  members  of  the  clubs  as  they  wear 
the  cockade  of  the  day,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
guard  against  odium,  and  a  protection  from  insult. 


364  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

Since  the  last  revolution  the  persons  vested  with  the 
powers  of  administration  have  observed  uniformly  tow 
ards  the  members  of  the  ancient  government,  a  system  of 
moderation  and  of  conciliation  equally  dictated  by  humanity 
and  by  policy.  The  same  principle  has  been  supported  and 
promoted  by  the  officers  of  the  French  government,  civil 
and  military,  and  has  hitherto  been  attended  with  very 
good  consequences.  The  principal  opposition  to  this  system 
has  arisen  from  the  popular  societies,  who  in  several  of  the 
large  cities  have  passed  resolves  of  a  different  complexion, 
and  in  some  have  peremptorily  demanded  of  the  present 
magistrates  to  adopt  measures  of  remedy  against  the  mem 
bers  of  the  former  regencies. 

These  ebullitions  were  in  general  contained  within 
bounds  until  the  conclusion  of  the  alliance  with  France, 
partly  by  the  exhortations  of  the  present  magistrates,  and 
principally  by  the  superintendence  of  the  French  Represen 
tatives  and  generals  who,  more  than  once,  declared  in  the 
most  positive  terms  that  they  would  not  suffer  the  execution 
of  any  arbitrary  designs,  and  would  protect  all  the  members 
of  the  former  government  or  others,  against  every  attempt  to 
persecute  them  without  a  specific  accusation. 

The  popular  societies  submitted,  but  did  not  acquiesce. 
On  the  I4th  of  this  month,  at  Rotterdam,  in  consequence 
of  a  resolution  taken  at  the  society,  a  notification  was  dis 
persed  throughout  the  city,  inviting  all  true  patriots  to 
assemble  together  in  a  public  place  assigned  at  a  certain 
hour  of  that  day. 

The  meeting  was  numerous  to  the  amount  of  several 
thousands.  They  deliberated,  they  resolved  and  finally 
determined  to  go  in  a  body  to  the  house  where  the  municipal 
ity  was  assembled,  and  s^nd  a  deputation  to  them,  demand 
ing  in  the  name  of  the  people  that  all  the  members  of  the 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  365 

former  Regency  be  put  under  arrest  in  their  houses.  That 
the  former  High  Officer  be  confined  in  close  prison,  that  all 
the  subaltern  officers  of  the  Orange  party  still  in  employ 
ment  be  immediately  dismissed  and  others  appointed  on 
their  stead,  true  Patriots  and  such  as  should  be  agreeable 
to  the  people. 

The  Council  of  the  municipality  refused  at  first  to  comply 
with  these  demands,  assigning  as  their  reasons  for  this 
refusal  that  the  citizens  had  not  been  legally  assembled, 
and  their  deputation  could  not  therefore  be  considered  as 
expressing  the  voice  of  the  people;  and  further  that,  as  the 
deputation  alleged  no  cause  whatever  for  the  arrest  of 
the  former  Regents  and  High  Officer,  the  demand  could  not 
be  complied  with  but  by  a  violation  of  the  rights  of  men  and 
citizens,  rights  which  they,  the  members  of  the  municipality, 
had  promised  before  God  and  their  fellow  citizens  to  support, 
and  one  article  of  which  was  that  "no  man  can  rightfully 
be  accused,  arrested  and  imprisoned  but  in  such  cases  and 
according  to  such  formalities,  as  have  previously  been 
established  by  law."  This  answer  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  people  who  surrounded  the  State  House,  and  the  munici 
pality  were  soon  after  compelled  by  the  fear  for  their  own 
lives  to  declare,  that  they  were  obliged  to  choose  between 
ike  circumstances  and  the  law,  and  therefore  adopted  all  the 
measures  that  had  been  thus  dictated  to  them. 

The  next  day  all  the  members  of  the  municipality  resigned 
their  places,  but  have  since  consented  to  continue  their 
functions  until  the  Provincial  Assembly  shall  have  come  to 
some  determination  relative  to  this  transaction.  The  same 
collection  of  people  afterwards  appointed  a  committee,  and 
sent  them  to  the  Provincial  Assembly  demanding:  i.  That 
one  or  more  revolutionary  tribunals  be  created  for  the 
purpose  of  revising  the  judicial  decisions  under  the  former 


366  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

government  relative  to  political  offences,  and  to  indemnify 
the  innocent  for  their  injuries  out  of  the  property  of  the 
Regents  at  that  time.  2.  That  all  the  former  Regents 
of  the  Orange  party  be  put  under  arrest;  and  3.  The 
dismission  of  all  the  partizans  of  the  House  of  Orange  from 
every  species  of  public  employment. 

On  the  16  the  Provincial  Assembly  appointed  a  committee 
to  go  to  Rotterdam,  and  hold  an  amicable  conference  with  the 
committee  from  the  multitude  that  had  assembled,  and  to 
endeavor  to  settle  the  affair  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
The  result  of  this  conference  was  an  arrangement,  in  conse 
quence  of  which  the  members  of  the  former  Regency  were 
dismissed  from  their  arrest,  giving  the  security  of  bonds  to  a 
large  amount,  and  the  people  of  the  city  were  authorized 
to  appoint  a  committee  of  vigilance  to  preserve  the  pub 
lic  peace  and  tranquility.  Here  the  matter  rests  for  the 
present. 

Something  of  a  similar  nature  has  occurred,  it  is  said, 
in  some  other  cities,  and  it  is  not  improbable  but  the 
same  spirit  will  discover  itself  with  equal  force  at  Am 
sterdam. 

The  generality  of  the  party  at  present  victorious  have 
never  been  satisfied  with  the  moderation  that  has  been  shown 
to  the  Regents  and  officers  of  the  former  government. 
Patriotism  has  considered  them  as  offenders  deserving 
punishment,  private  malice  and  resentment  have  viewed  them 
as  oppressors  reduced  to  impotence,  and  therefore  proper 
subjects  of  apprehension  in  their  turn.  Interest  has  looked 
only  at  their  wealth,  and  supposed  that  it  offered  a  just  and 
plentiful  supply  to  the  present  necessities  of  the  country. 
These  dispositions  have  been  very  much  strengthened  and 
increased  by  the  conduct  and  conversation  of  the  other  party. 
The  lenity  they  have  experienced,  instead  of  reconciling 


X79S1  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  367 

them  to  the  new  order  of  things,  has  only  given  them  courage 
to  hope  to  rail  and  to  threaten.  It  is  hardly  conceivable 
with  what  imprudence  they  provoke  severity,  and  bid 
defiance  to  a  power  certainly  competent  to  ruin  them.  At 
the  same  time  they  are  constantly  feeding  their  own  hopes 
with  rumors,  the  credit  of  which  rests  upon  no  other  founda 
tion  than  their  absurdity.  A  new  revolution  is  so  constantly 
the  object  of  their  wishes,  that  they  grasp  at  everything 
true  or  false  which  can  flatter  their  expectations.  The 
impatience  of  their  desires  overleaps  the  bounds  of  space  and 
time.  They  bring  an  English  fleet  upon  the  coast,  or  intro 
duce  a  Prussian  army  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  with  a 
facility  more  than  practical,  and,  without  waiting  for  an 
uncertain  reality,  they  hasten  to  enjoy  the  triumph  pre 
pared  for  them  with  such  rapidity  that  they  have  repeatedly 
stimulated  their  partisans  among  the  populace  to  acts  of 
riot  and  sedition,  which  it  has  been  found  necessary  to 
punish. 

Such  is  the  present  state  of  the  temper  between  the  two 
great  parties  of  this  Republic.  It  is  thought  that  it  may  be 
not  altogether  useless  to  have  entered  into  some  detail  on  the 
subject,  because  it  may  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  public 
mind  as  it  exists  here  at  this  time,  and  because  it  may  indicate 
the  probability  of  a  material  change  in  the  system  of  internal 
policy  in  this  Republic.  The  treatment  of  the  members  of 
the  former  government  forms  a  part  of  an  external  system, 
and  should  the  principles  which  have  hitherto  been  pursued 
in  this  particular  be  abandoned,  those  which  must  be  sub 
stituted  in  their  stead  would  unquestionably  have  a  very 
essential  operation  upon  the  aspect  of  affairs  throughout 
their  provinces. 

Please  to  accept  the  assurances,  &c. 


368  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

No.  44.  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  June  25,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR  : 

...  I  have  now  the  honor  of  inclosing  the  translation  of 
the  plan  for  the  convocation  of  a  National  Convention,  which 
has  been  sent  by  the  States  General  to  the  several  Provincial 
Assemblies  for  their  consideration.  The  probability  seems  to 
be  that  it  will  eventually  be  adopted,  but  the  deliberations 
will  be  more  or  less  deferred  in  the  different  provinces,  and  a 
considerable  time  will  elapse  before  it  will  be  put  in  execu 
tion. 

The  principal  objection  that  I  have  heard  against  it  is, 
that  it  interposes  another  provisional  government  between 
the  present  and  that  of  a  regular  constitution,  that  it  multi 
plies  revolutions  beyond  the  line  of  necessity,  and  seems  to 
prescribe  changes  merely  for  the  sake  of  changing. 

This  is  not  however  generally  considered  an  objection  of 
much  weight,  nor  is  the  plan  itself  a  subject  of  much  dis 
cussion.  It  is  indeed  impossible  to  conceive  a  people  more 
indifferent  to  everything  relating  to  theories  of  government 
than  the  Batavians.  I  should  hazard  nothing  in  saying 
that  the  law  calling  for  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  citizens 
has  been  the  subject  of  more  animadversions  in  every  town 
of  the  Republic,  than  the  plan  herewith  inclosed  has  been, 
or  ever  will  be,  throughout  the  whole  territory.  The  plan 
itself  may  perhaps  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  people  for 
whom  it  is  formed.  It  is  the  result  of  three  months'  labor 
and  intelligence  of  a  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose, 
and  it  is  distinguishable  less  perhaps  for  any  luminous 
principles  than  for  a  minuteness  of  detail,  which  does 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  369 

not  disdain  even  the  building  of  benches  for  the  voters  in 
the  primary  assemblies.  .  .   . 

June  26.  The  affair  of  the  municipality  of  Rotterdam 
has  not  hitherto  had  consequences  so  unpleasant  as  was 
apprehended,  the  demonstration  of  mutual  opposition  has, 
indeed,  more  than  once  assumed  an  alarming  appearance, 
but  hitherto  has  produced  no  distressing  events.  The 
Provincial  assembly  annulled  the  order  that  had  been 
extorted  from  the  municipality,  and  discharged  from  their 
arrest  the  magistrates  of  the  former  Regency,  excepting 
only  the  high  officer  Van  Staveren,  whose  arrest  is  continued, 
and  the  irritation  of  the  people  of  Rotterdam  against  him  is 
given  as  the  reason  for  the  measure.  They  made  at  the 
same  time  a  calm,  rational  and  judicious  address  to  the 
people  who  had  made  the  irregular  demands,  recommending 
temper  and  moderation  to  them,  and  conjuring  them  not  to 
disgrace  the  fair  and  unblemished  character  of  the  revolution 
by  acts  of  violence,  even  against  the  most  obnoxious  charac 
ters.  They  proposed,  however,  to  appoint  a  Committee 
to  examine  into  the  conduct  as  well  relative  to  concerns  of 
politics  as  of  finance  of  all  the  former  regents,  in  order  that 
those  who  had  been  the  oppressors  of  the  people  should  be 
compelled  to  make  indemnity  from  their  private  fortunes. 
These  measures,  however,  were  far  from  being  satisfactory 
to  the  popular  society  at  Rotterdam.  The  secretary  of  the 
irregular  assembly  formally  protested  against  the  decree  of 
the  Provincial  Assembly,  and  published  his  protest  in  the 
newspaper.  On  the  22d  instant  the  people  assembled  again 
in  considerable  numbers.  But  the  French  commandant  of 
the  place,  in  concert  with  the  municipality,  having  publicly 
declared  that  he  should  use  all  the  force  under  his  command 
against  any  attempt  whatever  to  disturb  the  peace,  and 
every  demonstration  of  a  determination  to  defend  the  munici- 

2B 


370  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

pality  at  all  hazards  against  any  further  indignity  being 
made,  they  finally  dispersed  without  attempting  any 
violence. 

June  30.  I  have  this  day  received  from  the  Greffier  of 
the  States  General  a  card  which  mentions  that  the  secretary 
of  the  Ambassador  Extraordinary  from  the  Republic  at 
Paris  has  just  arrived,  with  the  ratification  by  the  National 
Convention  of  the  treaty  of  friendship  and  alliance,  signed 
at  the  Hague  on  the  15  of  May  last,  and  inclosing  two  copies 
of  the  treaty.  I  send  one  of  them  herewith. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  this  month  the  commission  of 
eleven  appointed  by  the  Convention  to  prepare  and  present 
for  discussion  the  organic  laws  of  the  proposed  French 
constitution,  made  their  report  to  the  assembly.  They  have 
abandoned  without  ceremony  the  constitution  of  1793,  and 
substituted  in  its  stead  much  more  similar  to  those  forms  of 
government  which  are  familiar  to  Americans.  The  assembly 
are  to  open  the  discussion  of  the  plan  on  the  4th  of  July. 

The  legislative  body  is  proposed  to  consist  of  two  parts,  a 
council  of  500  and  a  council  of  Elders  to  the  number  of  250,  to 
be  renewed  by  halves  every  two  years.  A  landed  property 
of  some  kind  is  made  a  qualification  of  eligibility.  The 
Council  of  250  has  only  a  negative  upon  the  laws  proposed 
by  the  more  numerous  body. 

The  executive  power  is  to  consist  of  a  directory  of  five 
members,  one  of  whom  is  to  be  renewed  annually,  and  which 
is  to  be  presided  by  the  members  alternately  each  for  three 
months  at  a  time.  The  legislative  and  executive  powers 
are  both  to  be  surrounded  with  forms  of  solemnity,  and  to  be 
guarded  by  an  armed  force.  These  are  the  principal  circum 
stances  which  discover  the  prevalence  of  theoretic  opinions 
which  have  been  unfavorably  reviewed  at  certain  periods  of 
the  Revolution.  The  report  was  made  by  Boissy  d'Anglas, 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  371 

a  member  who  has  been  very  much  distinguished  of  late,  and 
whose  intrepidity  on  a  recent  critical  occasion  has  given 
him  an  extraordinary  degree  of  popularity.1  It  was  re 
ceived  with  great  applause  by  the  audience  in  the  galleries, 
and  appears  to  be  equally  satisfactory  to  the  public  in  Paris. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  June  27,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

I  received  two  or  three  days  since  your  favors  of  March  26, 
April  21  and  26,  all  together,  and  I  know  not  how  to  express 
the  pleasure  they  gave  me.  The  first  and  dearest  of  all 
my  wishes  is  personally  to  give  satisfaction,  and  obtain 
the  approbation  of  my  parents,  and  in  a  public  capacity 
to  justify  the  confidence  placed  in  me  by  the  appointment  I 
now  hold.  This  wish  is  in  both  parts  so  abundantly  gratified 
by  the  warm  and  cordial  expressions  used  in  your  letters,  that 
I  have  nothing  left  to  desire  but  a  continuance  of  that  kind 
ness  and  indulgence  which  I  have  always  experienced  from 
you,  and  which  the  government  has  been  pleased  to  bestow 
upon  my  first  performances  in  their  service. 

Every  suggestion  or  intimation  of  advice  from  you  will 
always  be  received  with  gratitude  by  me,  because  I  know 
from  long  experience,  that  it  will  operate  to  my  own  ad 
vantage  in  its  use.  The  officer2  I  mentioned  to  you  in  one 
of  my  first  letters,  and  with  respect  to  whom  you  give  me 
a  caution,  never  had  any  confidence  from  me.  His  ad 
venture  here,  and  his  claims  and  those  of  his  friends  for  my 

1  In  the  affair  of  I    Prairial  (May  i),  when  the  head  of    the  murdered    Jean 
Fcraud  on  a  pike  was  waved  before  him  as  he  presided  over  the  Convention. 
1  Eustace. 


372  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

official  services,  embarrassed  me  not  a  little  upon  my 
first  arrival.  But  as  I  was  from  the  first  moment  guarded 
by  my  suspicions,  I  refused  all  interference  in  his  affair 
beyond  what  I  considered  as  an  obligation  of  duty.  By 
doing  more  I  should  have  paid  my  court  more  effectually  to 
the  Patriots,  who  are  now  at  the  head  of  affairs,  but  I  had 
not  forgotten  that  I  was  not  sent  here  to  make  myself  a 
partizan  of  Dutch  factions,  and  I  had  upon  that  occasion 
at  least  the  advantage  of  discovering,  what  has  since  received 
ample  confirmation,  that  I  must  be  content  with  coolness 
from  the  patriotic  party  as  well  as  from  the  other,  and 
must  reconcile  myself  philosophically  to  the  certainty  of 
being  no  favorite  with  either  side. 

I  have  endeavored  in  my  letters  to  you  hitherto  to  pre 
serve  a  chain  of  general  intelligence  relative  to  the  most 
important  political  affairs  of  Europe.  Since  my  last  letter, 
or  rather  while  I  was  writing  it,  a  furious  insurrection  broke 
out  against  the  Convention,  which  was  during  two  days 
upon  the  point  of  a  general  massacre,  and  one  member  of 
which  was  killed  by  a  pistol  shot,  and  his  head  was  carried 
on  a  pike  in  the  Hall  of  the  Convention  itself.  The  revolt 
however  was  eventually  suppressed,  and  as  soon  as  the 
victory  of  the  Assembly  was  ascertained,  they  appointed  a 
military  commission  of  five  members  to  try  all  offenders  con 
cerned  in  that  conspiracy.  By  this  tribunal  six  members 
of  the  Convention  have  recently  been  condemned  to  death.1 
All  six  attempted  to  anticipate  the  execution  by  their  own 
hands,  three  of  them  succeeded,  but  the  rest  suffered  according 
to  the  judgement.  Three  other  members  of  the  Convention 
prevented  even  their  trial  by  a  voluntary  death.  Several 
others  are  still  reserved  for  trial,  and  in  all  probability  will 
have  the  same  fate.  All  this  proceeds  from  a  deadly  aver- 

1  Romme,  Duquesnoy,  Duroy,  Bourbotte,  Soubrany,  and  Goujeon. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  373 

sion  to  the  sanguinary  system  of  terror  pursued  in  the  time 
of  Robespierre.  But  this  singular  species  of  humanity, 
this  energetic  abhorrence  of  cruelty,  is  not  confined  within 
the  limits  of  legal  forms.  In  many  of  the  departments  the 
former  murderers  are  murdered  with  as  little  ceremony, 
the  drowners  are  drowned.  The  mere  name  of  Terrorist  is  a 
title  to  proscription,  and  how  often  the  name  is  given  by 
private  malice  for  the  sake  of  producing  the  proscription, 
is  not  told.  These  excesses  are  disapproved  by  all  the 
sober  part  of  the  nation,  they  are  disapproved  even  by  the 
Convention,  but  they  are  committed  every  day,  and  there  is 
no  power  competent  to  restrain  or  to  punish  them.  On  the 
other  hand  the  war  in  the  Vendee  again  blazes  out  with 
extreme  violence,  as  is  said.  A  sort  of  treaty  had  been 
signed  by  the  deputies  of  the  Convention  on  the  one  side  and 
the  principal  leaders  of  the  rebellion  on  the  other.  The 
latter  were  promised  pardon  and  protection,  engaging  to 
submit  to  the  laws  of  the  Republic.  It  is  now  said  they 
were  perfidiously  dissimulating;  that  they  have  violated  the 
pacifications.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  of  them  have  been 
arrested  and  sent  to  Paris  for  trial,  and  the  Convention 
has  decreed  that  the  violation  of  the  treaty  is  an  offence 
punishable  with  death. 

At  Toulon  a  Jacobin  insurrection  was  for  some  time 
successful.  It  extended  to  the  fleet  then  in  the  harbor,  and 
prevented  it  from  sailing  to  meet  the  British  fleet  in  the 
Mediterranean.  A  member  of  the  Convention  in  mission 
there  was  driven  to  despair  by  this  event,  and  shot  himself. 
But  this  revolt  was  of  short  duration ;  order  was  soon  re 
stored,  and  the  fleet  has  now  sailed. 

The  son  of  Louis  the  i6th  died  in  the  temple  on  the  8th 
[10]  of  this  month.1  His  sister,  the  only  remaining  child 

1  Louis  XVII.     Cambridge  Modern  History,  VIII,  389. 


374  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

of  the  late  King,  it  is  said,  is  very  ill.  The  surgeon  who 
attended  the  boy  in  his  illness  died  a  few  days  before 
him.  A  proces  verbal,  signed  by  four  health  officers,  by 
order  of  the  Committee  of  General  Surety,  declares  that 
the  death  was  owing  to  a  scrofulous  disease  of  long  con 
tinuance. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  events  the  arms  of  the  Repub 
lic  continue  to  be  victorious.  Luxemburg  not  long  since 
capitulated,  and  a  garrison  of  twelve  thousand  men  re 
turns  to  Germany  engaging  not  to  serve  against  the  French 
or  their  allies  during  the  war.  Mentz  alone  now  remains 
to  be  taken  on  the  left  side  of  the  Rhine.  A  peace  between 
France  and  the  German  Empire  becomes  probable.  But 
the  Emperor  and  Great  Britain,  or  at  least  the  latter,  will 
remain  at  war. 

The  perseverance  of  the  British  government  is  founded 
upon  their  confidence  in  their  naval  superiority,  which  is  now 
established  more  decisively  than  it  has  ever  been.  The 
French  government,  to  make  a  parade  of  commanding  the 
seas,  sent  their  large  fleet  of  thirty-six  men  of  war  to 
cruise  to  and  fro  in  the  channel,  through  the  months  of 
December  and  January  last.  They  enjoyed  the  satisfaction 
of  naval  empire  at  their  full  leisure.  It  was  not  for  a  moment 
disputed,  and  indeed  scarcely  perceived  in  a  season  when 
commerce  is  not  fond  of  frequenting  the  channel.  The 
price  at  which  this  enjoyment  was  purchased  was  the  total 
loss  of  seven  ships  of  the  line  wrecked  in  a  tempest,  and  all 
the  fleet  so  shattered  and  disabled,  that  it  has  not  yet 
been  repaired,  and  will  be  able  to  do  nothing  this  season.  It 
is  possible  that  one  effort  more  will  be  made  in  the  Mediter 
ranean,  but  the  reasonable  Frenchmen  begin  to  give  up  even 
the  pretension  of  contesting  the  sea  during  the  present  war. 
They  did  expect  that  their  success  in  this  country  could  have 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  375 

proved  essentially  advantageous  to  them,  and  upon  their  first 
arrival  here  you  would  have  imagined  they  were  landing 
upon  the  English  coast.  They  soon  discovered  their  error. 
The  naval  force  of  this  country  was  magni  nominis  umbra, 
and  if  the  French  did  not  take  possession  of  all  they  found 
in  the  ports  of  this  Republic  by  right  of  conquest,  it 
was  merely  because  all  they  found  was  really  not  worth 
taking.  The  Batavians  have  stipulated  in  their  treaty 
of  alliance  to  have  twelve  ships  of  the  line  and  eighteen 
frigates  during  this  season  ready  for  sea.  They  will  probably 
not  have  half  the  number.  At  this  moment  there  does 
not  appear  to  be  a  single  frigate  or  man  of  war  fit  for  sea, 
and  the  British  come  and  take  prizes  in  full  sight  of  the 
Texel  itself. 

On  the  strength  of  their  maritime  supremacy  the  British 
government  have  revived  their  system  of  famishing  their 
enemies  into  submission,  and  as  they  were  unable  to  protect 
the  Hollanders  as  friends,  they  have  concluded  to  starve 
them  too.  All  neutral  vessels  laden  with  provisions  bound 
to  France  or  Holland  are  to  be  captured  by  the  British 
armed  vessels  and  carried  into  their  ports,  the  freights  and 
cargoes  to  be  paid. 

The  policy  of  the  British  government  seems  to  consider 
military  operations  as  the  least  essential  part  of  war.  The 
pride,  pomp  and  circumstance  of  their  hostility  consist  not 
in  the  neighing  steed,  the  shrill  trump,  the  spirit  stirring 
drum,  the  ear  piercing  fife,  or  the  royal  banner,  but  in 
forgery  and  famine.  Their  troops  have  been  the  terror 
of  their  friends  and  the  derision  of  their  enemies,  but  their 
artists  are  inimitable  at  counterfeiting  an  assignat,  and 
their  frigates  and  privateers  are  invincible  against  the  mer 
chant  vessels  of  neutral  nations.  Trahit  sua  quamque 
voluptas :  every  man  has  his  predilection  for  some  particular 


376  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

species  of  glory.  That  of  conquering  by  famine  and  forgery 
may  have  its  charms  too,  and  however  destructive  such  a 
contest  may  be,  the  victory  would  at  least  have  the  ad 
vantage  of  being  bloodless. 

It  is  however  at  this  time  tolerably  well  ascertained  that 
the  system  of  starving  will  not  be  more  successful  this  time 
than  it  has  been  heretofore.  The  scarcity  of  bread  is  un 
doubtedly  great  in  France  and  in  this  country  too,  but  every 
other  article  of  provision  is  in  usual  plenty.  The  season  is 
said  to  be  uncommonly  promising,  a  considerable  variety 
of  vegetables  which  can  serve  to  supply  the  place  of  bread 
have  already  reached  their  maturity,  even  in  this  northern 
climate,  and  every  day  from  the  present  moment  will  add 
some  new  article  to  the  stores.  The  usual  period  of  the 
harvest  is  rapidly  approaching,  and  the  British  government 
will  once  more  be  obliged  to  console  themselves  for  the 
failure  of  their  design  by  the  consciousness  of  its  efficacy. 
The  mere  intention  to  famish  thirty  millions  of  the  human 
race  is  a'n  effort  that  must  carry  its  own  reward  along  with  it, 
and  even  its  failure  will  be  not  much  less  glorious  than 
would  be  its  success. 

Since  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  between  the  French  and 
Batavian  Republics  nothing  very  material  has  taken  place 
here.  The  same  languor  and  imbecility  which  characterized 
the  former  government  are  equally  discovered  by  the 
present :  no  vigor,  no  exertions,  no  public  spirit,  but  abun 
dance  of  commonplace  about  liberty,  equality  and  the  rights 
of  man  ;  abundance  of  invective  against  the  House  of  Orange 
and  its  partizans,  abundance  of  patriotic  exultation,  together 
with  frequent  ebullitions  of  rage  restrained  and  of  revenge 
repressed  but  ready  to  burst  forth  in  all  its  violence  against 
the  rotten  part  of  the  nation,  the  slavish  subalterns  of  their 
oppressors,  that  is  against  all  the  members  of  the  former 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  377 

regencies.  This  spirit  of  turbulence  is  preserved  and 
stimulated  by  the  popular  societies,  as  numerous  and  almost 
as  mischievous  here  as  they  are  elsewhere.  The  other  day 
at  Rotterdam,  in  consequence  of  some  flaming  resolves  of 
the  popular  society  there,  a  mob  of  several  thousand  people 
assembled  together,  went  to  the  State  House  and  demanded 
of  the  municipality  to  order  all  the  members  of  the  former 
Regency  immediately  under  arrest.  The  municipality 
remonstrated,  stating  that  the  people  were  not  legally 
assembled,  that  their  demand  was  contrary  to  the  rights  of 
man,  inasmuch  as  they  had  made  no  specific  charge  against 
the  persons  whose  arrest  they  desired.  To  this  grave  and 
serious  objection  the  only  reply  to  the  municipality  was, 
that  if  they  had  any  regard  for  their  own  lives,  they  must 
instantly  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  they 
complied  accordingly.  The  mob  then  chose  a  committee  to 
come  and  demand  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  the  same 
measure  of  severity  to  be  extended  through  the  Province. 
The  Assembly  entered  into  a  sort  of  negotiation  with  them, 
annulled  the  order  that  had  been  extorted  from  the  munici 
pality  of  Rotterdam,  discharged  the  persons  confined  under 
it  from  arrest,  excepting  only  the  former  high  officer  whose 
arrest  is  continued,  because  the  people  of  Rotterdam  appear  to 
be  very  much  irritated  against  him,  and  promise  that  they  will 
pay  all  proper  attention  to  the  wishes  of  the  people.  The 
collection  of  well-disposed  people  (the  name  assumed  by  the 
irregular  assembly,)  are  not  satisfied  with  these  measures, 
their  secretary  makes  a  formal  protestation  against  them, 
and  publishes  it  in  the  newspapers.  The  members  of  the 
municipality  at  Rotterdam,  indignant  at  the  violence  to 
which  they  had  been  forced  to  yield,  all  resign  and  after 
wards  at  the  request  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  consent  to 
continue  in  office  for  the  present. 


378  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

The  character,  the  situation  and  temper  of  the  Provincial 
Assembly  of  the  municipalities  in  general,  of  the  popular 
societies,  and  of  the  peuple  patriot?,  are  all  displayed  more 
clearly  in  this  one  transaction  than  could  be  done  by  a  volume 
of  description  or  argumentation.  In  the  rulers  you  see 
moderation,  a  regard  for  good  principles,  and  a  sense  of  the 
duties  annexed  to  their  stations,  but  all  subordinate  to  com 
plaisance  for  the  popular  will,  and  still  more  to  personal 
fear.  In  the  popular  societies  and  their  emanations,  the 
thirst  for  party  vengeance,  the  want  of  confidence  in  the 
nominal  rulers  so  lately  the  objects  of  their  own  choice,  the 
contempt  of  all  principles  upon  which  political  and  civil 
liberty  must  be  founded,  and  the  defiance  publicly  pro 
claimed  of  all  the  authorities  which  have  so  recently  been 
created,  are  equally  discernible.  I  have  related  this  anecdote 
therefore  as  a  specimen  from  which  it  may  be  judged  what 
the  present  state  of  affairs  here  is.  Many  others  might  be 
told,  bearing  in  a  degree  the  same  distinctive  marks,  and 
all  would  tend  to  the  confirmation  of  the  same  conclusion. 
In  the  meantime  the  project  of  making  a  new  Constitution 
is  yet  held  forth,  and  the  States  General  have  lately  sent 
to  the  Provincial  Assemblies  for  their  acceptance  a  plan  for 
the  convocation  of  a  National  Convention.  This  plan  is 
considered  as  a  thing  of  so  little  consequence,  that  it  has  not 
even  been  published  in  any  of  the  French  newspapers  of  the 
country.  I  have  therefore  made  a  translation  of  it  from 
the  Dutch  for  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  send  a  copy  of  it 
also  to  you,  because  it  is  really  an  object  of  curiosity,  and 
because  I  am  glad  to  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  you 
that  I  have  not  entirely  neglected  the  language. 

I  shall  perhaps  take  another  opportunity  to  communicate 
the  observations  which  this  plan  suggests  in  relation  to  the 
state  of  public  opinion  upon  the  theory  of  government,  but  at 


I79SJ  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  379 

present  I  must  remember  I  am  writing  a  letter  and  not  a 
volume. 

I  have  at  length  received  instructions,  which  relieve  me 
from  all  embarrassment  with  respect  to  the  conduct  I  have 
to  hold  in  the  changes  which  have  been,  and  yet  will  be, 
taking  place  around  me.1  Hitherto  I  have  had  no  occasion  to 

1  "The  maxim  of  the  President  towards  France  has  been  to  follow  the  govern 
ment  of  the  people.  Whatsoever  regimen  a  majority  of  them  shall  establish  is,  both 
de  facto  and  de  jure,  that  to  which  our  minister  there  addresses  himself.  If  there 
fore  the  independency  of  the  United  Netherlands  continues,  it  is  wished  that  you 
make  no  difficulty  in  passing  from  the  old  to  any  new  constitution  of  the  people. 
If  the  new  rulers  will  accept  your  old  powers  and  credentials,  offer  them.  If  they 
require  others  adapted  to  the  new  order  of  things,  assure  the  proper  authorities  or  in- 
dividuals  that  you  will  write  for  them,  and  doubt  not  that  they  will  be  expedited. 

"  Should  the  United  Netherlands  become  a  dependence  on  the  French  Republic, 
your  mission  will  of  course  be  terminated  by  the  extinction  of  the  nation  itself. 
But  in  this  event  you  will  continue  on  the  ground  until  further  instructions^  taking 
care  to  communicate  fully,  and  by  quadruplicates,  with  this  government.  At  the 
same  time  you  will  be  as  neutral  as  possible  in  your  conduct  and  remarks  and  avdJ 
offence  to  either  side.  Should  anything  be  said  to  you  on  the  French  side  urging 
some  declaration  from  you,  it  will  be  enough  to  give  assurances  of  our  regard  for  the 
French  Republic,  and  to  express  your  confidence  that  as  in  your  instructions  the 
event  could  not  have  been  foreseen,  every  accommodation  will  be  made  by  your 
government  for  maintaining  an  harmonious  intercourse  with  that  Republic  and  its 
connections. 

"Should  it  be  doubtful  in  whose  hands  [government]  will  be  finally  established, 
your  prudence  must  prevent  you  from  committing  the  government  of  the  United 
States  until  you  see  your  way  clearly.  You  will  be  best  able  to  judge  whether  under 
this,  or  any  circumstances,  you  could  not  contrive  an  adequate  pretext  for  retiring 
to  some  spot  within  the  Seven  Provinces  or  their  dependencies,  until  you  shall  re 
ceive  an  answer  to  your  communications  to  this  department.  But  such  a  retirement 
ought  to  be  so  managed  as  to  have  nothing  of  the  air  of  design  or  of  alienation 
from  the  existing  rulers.  It  would  be  a  delicate  step,  and  would  require  to  be 
thoroughly  digested.  The  only  end  proposed  by  this  suggestion  is  that  you  may 
shelter  yourself  from  inconvenient  importunities. 

"If  amidst  the  inevitable  convulsions  personal  danger  be  apprehended,  no  line  can  be 
chalked  by  us  for  your  guidance,  and  your  own  judgement  and  discretion  must  decide. 
But  without  the  most  unequivocal  necessity  it  is  thought  best  that  you  should  not 
quit  the  country  until  you  shall  be  so  instructed."  From  the  Secretary  of  State,  Feb 
ruary  27,  1795.  Ms.  Words  in  italics  were  in  cipher. 


38o  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

take  any  step  that  could  cause  particular  remark,  and  if 
I  have  not  made  myself  violent  friends  and  admirers  in  the 
party,  by  subscribing  to  their  clubs  and  joining  in  their 
processions,  neither  have  I  made  myself  obnoxious  by  any 
conduct  or  remarks  that  could  be  offensive  to  them.  The 
other  neutral  Ministers  and  even  the  Portuguese  have  con 
stantly  remained  here.  I  have  found  them  all  very  polite 
obliging  and  friendly. 

I  have  the  same  acknowledgment  to  make  with  respect 
to  the  French  Representatives  and  Generals  who  have  been 
in  this  country.  It  is  due  to  them  all  excepting  Sieyes,  who 
in  the  only  conversation  I  had  with  him  spoke  of  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  in  a  manner  different  from  the 
others,  and  who  was  answered  by  me  in  a  manner  equally 
different  from  that  I  had  used  with  the  rest.  I  have  related 
the  conversation  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

I  am,  &c. 

TO  ABIGAIL  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  June  29,  1795. 

My  friend,  T.  H.  Perkins,  who  was  here  some  time  since, 
had  already  informed  me  of  the  discomfiture  the  Jacobini 
cal  heroes  had  suffered  in  Boston,  by  the  loss  of  Honestus's 
election.1 

His  Chronicle  printer,2  the  Tom  Tit  twittering  on  this 
goose's  back,  cannot  fight,  it  seems,  his  little  wish  to  be 
malicious  against  me.  He  will  not  forgive  me  for  having 
put  some  truth  and  justice  into  his  paper.  It  was  such  a 

1  John  Coffin  Jones  was  elected  and  Benjamin  Austin,  Jr.,  defeated  in  the  Sena 
torial  choice. 

2  The  printers  of  the  Independent  Chronicle  were  Thomas  Adams  and  Benjamin 
Larkin. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  381 

violence  to  the  personal  character  of  the  man,  and  the  politi 
cal  character  of  the  print,  as  would  have  made  him  my 
enemy  for  ever,  if  he  had  dared  to  be  the  enemy  of  any  man. 
The  American  minister  neither  went  to  England  with  the 
Stadtholder,  nor  remained  at  the  Hague  under  the  protection 
of  General  Pichegru.  He  remained  at  his  post  under  the 
protection  of  the  Laws  of  Nations  ;  that  is,  of  certain  usages 
and  principles  to  the  printer  and  editor  of  the  Chronicle 
unknown,  but  which  all  civilized  human  beings  hold  in 
singular  veneration,  and  which  General  Pichegru  as  well  as 
the  other  French  generals  and  representatives  of  the  people 
who  have  been  in  this  country,  took  particular  pains  to 
preserve  inviolate.  It  did  not  once  enter  their  minds  that 
the  minister  of  a  neutral  and  friendly  nation  could  be  a 
subject  of  protection  to  them ;  but  they  were  anxiously 
solicitous  that  none  of  the  rights  annexed  to  the  character 
should  suffer  the  minutest  injury  from  them,  and  strange 
as  it  may  seem  to  the  aforesaid  printer  and  editor,  they 
universally  valued  very  highly  the  reputation  of  being  scrupu 
lously  observant  of  the  laws  of  nations.  .  .  . 


TO  JOHN   ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  27  July,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

The  public  affairs  of  the  country  where  I  now  reside 
afford  at  this  time  but  an  indifferent  topic  of  correspondence. 
In  the  general  scale  of  Europe  it  is  of  so  little  comparative 
importance,  that  nothing  less  than  a  conquest  or  a  revolu 
tion  can  make  its  current  events  interesting  enough  to  be 
an  object  of  communication  beyond  the  Atlantic.  Both 
these  great  political  changes  have  taken  place  since  my  arri 
val  here,  both  have  been  completed,  and  leave  the  nation 


382  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

in  a  state  of  dull  tranquility  that  is  equally  barren  for  narra 
tion  and  for  observation.  In  my  last  letter  was  inclosed 
a  translation  of  the  plan  proposed  for  calling  a  Convention. 
The  subject  has  been  discussed  in  the  several  Provincial 
Assemblies.  That  of  Holland  proposes  to  accept  the  plan 
with  an  amendment,  whereby  the  National  Convention  shall 
be  invested  with  all  the  powers  of  the  whole  Batavian  people. 
That  of  Friesland  objects  against  assembling  a  Convention 
at  all,  and  proposes  to  remain  in  their  present  state  of  con 
stitution.  The  reason  of  this  difference  is  that  Holland  is 
desirous  of  unity  and  indivisibility,  and  that  Friesland  pre 
fers  the  federal  union  as  it  now  stands.  It  is  the  differing 
interest  that  occasions  this  differing  opinion,  and  it  will  not 
improbably  be  a  source  of  long  discord,  for  each  of  the  parties 
attaches  to  its  own  opinion  that  obstinacy  and  bigotry  that 
interest  always  communicates  to  political  opinions.  As  to 
the  construction  of  the  intended  convention,  a  single  as 
sembly  without  control,  it  is  considered  on  both  sides  as 
an  immaterial  circumstance,  and  they  are  entirely  satisfied 
with  the  idea  that  it  will  be  a  perfect  imitation  of  the  French 
Assembly.  It  is  remarkable  that  they  pride  themselves  upon 
this  imitation  at  the  very  moment  when  the  French  Assembly 
proclaim  their  abandonment  of  the  system,  from  a  convic 
tion  of  the  manifold  injuries  it  has  done  them. 

It  has  been  mentioned  in  a  former  letter  that  a  Committee 
of  eleven  members  of  the  French  Convention  had  been  ap 
pointed  to  prepare  what  they  called  the  organic  laws  for  the 
Constitution.  It  was  an  expedient  contrived  by  the  party 
now  dominant,  to  get  rid  entirely  of  the  Constitution  of 
1793,  which  had  undergone  the  form  of  an  acceptance  by 
the  people,  but  the  character  of  which  is  too  anarchical  for 
the  public  opinion  of  this  time,  and  which  had  the  more 
unpardonable  defect  of  having  been  made  by  the  Jacobin 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  383 

party.  The  commission  of  eleven  have  therefore  made  their 
report.1  They  propose  another  Constitution  altogether 
different  from  that  of  1793,  and  it  is  now  under  the  discus 
sion  of  the  Assembly.  The  plan  contains  less  of  the  wild 
fire  than  was  so  liberally  scattered  through  the  other,  and 
the  article  of  the  declaration  of  rights,  which  sanctifies  the 
right  of  insurrection,  is  removed.  The  legislative  body  is 
to  be  divided,  but  the  two  houses  are  not  invested  with 
equal  powers.  The  council  of  elders  (that  is  the  Senate,) 
will  have  no  right  to  originate  any  laws,  but  only  a  negative 
upon  those  proposed  by  the  council  of  five  hundred  or  Repre 
sentatives.  The  executive  power  is  to  consist  of  a  Directory 
of  five  persons,  appointed  by  the  Legislature,  without  a 
negative  upon  the  laws,  and  to  be  presided  alternately  by 
each  of  its  members  for  three  months  at  a  time.  You  can 
easily  judge  without  any  further  details  whether  this  Con 
stitution  is  likely  to  establish  the  reign  of  liberty  in  France, 
any  more  than  those  that  have  been  already  proposed  or 
accepted.2  The  reporter  of  the  Committee,  Boissy  d'Anglas, 
is  a  member  who  has  rapidly  risen  to  reputation  since  the 
fall  of  Robespierre,  and  is  at  this  time  perhaps  the  most 
popular  member  of  the  Convention.  His  discourse  which 
accompanied  the  report  was  received  with  great  applause, 
and  as  it  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  fashionable  political  doc 
trines  of  the  present  day,  I  shall  send  you  a  copy  of  it.  You 
will  perceive  that  he  quotes  your  authority  in  support  of 
a  divided  legislature,  but  his  very  quotation  shows  that  he 
knew  as  little  of  you  as  of  your  book. 

Whether  the  Constitution  will  be  adopted  or  not,  is  very 
problematical ;  whether  it  will  ever  be  put  into  execution,  is 
much  more  so.  The  Convention  itself  labors  under  a  great 

1  June  23. 

1  The  proposed  measure  is  described  in  Cambridge  Modern  History,  VIII.  392. 


384  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

load  of  unpopularity,  being  equally  detested  by  the  Jacobins 
and  by  the  Royalists.  Great  numbers  of  the  Moderates 
are  said  to  be  of  this  latter  description.  For  several  months 
past  they  have  supported  the  Convention,  only  because  they 
were  afraid  that  its  dissolution  would  restore  the  reign  of  the 
Jacobins ;  but  they  grow  stronger,  or  imagine  so,  from  day 
to  day,  and  they  begin  already  to  declare  against  the  Conven 
tion  themselves.  This  disposition  is  so  clearly  manifested 
that  another  crisis  may  be  soon  expected,  and  the  present 
appearance  is,  that  it  will  produce  a  reconciliation  and  coali 
tion  between  the  Convention  and  the  Jacobin  party.  The 
struggle  will  as  usual  end  in  a  convulsion,  and  that  will 
terminate  in  a  Revolution.  But  whether  it  will  be  a  renewal 
of  the  3  ist  of  May,1  or  a  counterpart  to  the  loth  of  August,2 
it  is  impossible  at  this  distance  to  anticipate. 

As  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the  conversation  of  the 
French  men  that  I  meet  with  here,  and  from  the  accounts 
of  observing  persons  who  have  recently  been  at  Paris,  the 
whole  nation  is  heartily  tired  of  revolutions,  sighing  for 
peace  and  tranquility,  but  as  little  prepared  for  any  system 
that  shall  procure  it  as  they  ever  have  been  at  any  time. 
The  Jacobin  party  is  numerous  and  powerful,  though  loaded 
with  an  immense  weight  of  odium,  and  at  this  time  really 
persecuted  and  oppressed.  The  Royalists,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  the  more  formidable,  because  no  man  knows  what 
their  strength  is ;  for  the  course  of  their  Revolutions  has 
been  so  rapid,  so  violent  and  eccentric,  that  at  one  period 
or  another  political  hypocrisy  has  been  to  some  an  asylum, 
to  others  a  weapon,  but  practised  by  all,  so  that  there  is 
not  a  man  perhaps  in  the  Republic,  who  has  not  professed 
the  most  contradictory  creeds  at  different  periods.  This 

1  Insurrection  of  12  Prairial,  1793. 

2  1792,  the  date  of  the  attack  on  the  Tuileries. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  385 

dissimulation  loses  all  its  depravity  in  its  universality  and 
in  the  horrible  necessity  which  occasioned  it,  but  it  has 
left  an  indelible  impression  ;  it  has  annihilated  all  confidence 
between  man  and  man,  and  introduced  an  universal  distrust 
in  its  stead.  The  people  in  general  and  the  Convention 
declare  themselves  equally  hostile  to  both  parties.  The 
aversion  against  royalty  is  deeply  rooted  in  the  nation,  and 
acquires  a  tenfold  vigor  from  the  dread  of  seeing  its  restora 
tion,  accompanied  by  the  return  and  triumph  of  the  emi 
grants,  whose  property  is  the  only  pledge  for  the  redemption 
of  the  national  paper  and  for  the  recompense  of  the  republi 
can  armies.  In  short  there  is  no  Revolution  whatever  but 
may  be  expected  in  that  country,  except  one  that  shall 
give  them  peace  and  a  regulated  liberty.  If  in  the  most 
favorable  circumstances  the  perfection  of  human  legislation 
is  scarcely  adequate  to  the  construction  of  a  government, 
which  may  be  at  the  same  time  strong  to  enforce  the  law 
and  weak  for  any  abuse  of  its  power,  it  may  without  hesita 
tion  be  pronounced  impossible  in  France.  I  suppose  the 
opinion  is  yet  a  political  heresy,  and  like  most  other  heresies 
it  is  an  eternal  truth.1 

At  the  present  moment  Paris  is  in  a  state  of  violent  agi 
tation,  and  the  inveteracy  of  the  parties  discovers  itself,  as 
it  always  does,  upon  the  most  trivial  occasions.  The 
treaties  and  the  Convention  are  the  stages  upon  which  it  is 
discovered.  You  will  have  heard  doubtless  before  this 

1  "But  as  to  a  free  government,  a  government  of  laws,  or  any  government  other 
than  that  of  opinion,  that  is  of  parties,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  either  in  France 
or  in  this  country.  How  many  more  years  they  will  spend  in  making  constitutions, 
I  know  not,  but  that  they  will  never  make  a  constitution  and  execute  it  is  evident 
to  every  dispassionate  observer.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  long  an  alchymist 
will  hunt  for  the  philosopher's  stone  without  being  discouraged;  but  those  who 
imagine  he  will  find  it  are  blessed  with  a  stronger  built  faith  than  has  been  allotted 
to  me."  To  Abigail  Adams,  July  30,  1795.  Ms. 

2C 


386  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

reaches  you  of  a  song  called  the  Reveil  du  peuple.  It  has 
neither  the  poetical  nor  the  musical  merit  of  the  Hymne  des 
Marseillais,  but  it  is  a  bitter  effusion  against  the  Jacobins, 
the  Terrorists,  and  the  system  of  blood.  It  has  therefore 
become  a  great  favorite  among  the  people  of  Paris,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  famous  hymn  has  lost  much  of  its  popularity. 
Within  the  last  few  weeks  they  have  become  real  badges 
of  party,  and  at  the  theatres  the  spectators  have  frequently 
refused  to  hear  the  Marseillaise,  and  have  called  constantly 
for  the  other. 

On  the  I4th  of  this  month  the  National  Convention  cele 
brated  the  anniversary  of  the  destruction  of  the  Bastille. 
They  had  the  Marseillaise  hymn  performed  in  their  presence, 
and,  inspired  by  a  moment  of  enthusiasm  or  by  a  settled 
policy,  they  joined  with  great  ardor  in  the  chorus.  One  of 
the  members  immediately  proposed,  and  the  assembly  as 
immediately  decreed,  that  this  hymn  should  be  sung  every 
morning  by  the  guard  that  attends  the  Convention.  The 
next  day  the  guard  was  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  people 
who  would  not  allow  them  to  execute  the  decree,  and  they 
themselves  refused  to  do  it.  The  Convention  without  re 
pealing  their  decree  passed  to  the  order  of  the  day  on  being 
informed  that  it  was  not  complied  with.  At  the  theatre  all 
the  patriotic  songs  were  excluded  excepting  only  the  Reveil 
du  peuple.  The  Committees  of  Government  prohibited 
the  singing  of  any  songs  whatever  upon  the  theatres  other 
than  those  belonging  to  the  plays  performed.  The  actors 
obeyed,  but  the  song  was  sung  by  the  spectators  themselves, 
not  without  manifestations  of  indignation  against  the  Con 
vention. 

In  the  mean  time  the  rebellion  in  the  Vendee  has  again 
assumed  a  formidable  aspect,  and  four  or  five  thousand 
emigrants  from  England  have  landed  to  join  the  Royalists 


I79S1  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  387 

in  those  Departments.  They  are  said  to  be  blocked  up, 
however,  in  Quiberon,  and  a  force  so  considerable  is  sent 
into  that  quarter,  that  the  total  extinction  of  the  rebellion 
is  promised,  and  expected  very  soon  to  be  effected. 

The  armies  in  Spain  retain  their  superiority,  but  do  not 
exert  it  to  advance  any  further  into  the  country.  That  of 
Italy,  after  a  number  of  successive  engagements  during  the 
ten  last  days  of  June,  has  abandoned  its  stations  upon  the 
river  of  Genoa ;  but  Kellermann  tells  his  troops  that  they 
must  not  call  it  a  retreat.  The  armies  on  the  Rhine  are  still 
employed  upon  the  siege  of  Mentz,  and  it  is  supposed  they 
will  soon  attempt  to  cross  the  river.  At  sea  there  has  been 
another  naval  engagement,  in  which  France  has  lost  three 
more  ships  of  the  line,  besides  a  frigate  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Their  maritime  war  has  invariably  been  as  disastrous  as  that 
by  land  has  been  successful. 

The  German  Diet  have  come  to  a  formal  conclusion  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with  France  under  the  mediation  of 
the  King  of  Prussia.  This  negotiation  will  certainly  be 
protracted  considerably,  because  the  terms  for  which  the 
parties  are  prepared  differ  so  widely,  that  they  cannot  imme 
diately  be  brought  together. 

The  Russian  fleet,  stipulated  by  the  late  treaty  with  Great 
Britain  to  be  sent  into  the  North  Sea,  has  arrived  at  Copen 
hagen,  and  sailed  again  from  thence.  There  are  twelve 
ships  of  the  line  and  eight  frigates,  and  they  have  English 
pilots  on  board,  who  were  sent  to  join  them  at  Copenhagen. 

The  British  Government  persist  with  a  perseverance 
which  nothing  but  the  national  hatred  against  France  could 
support  in  the  continuance  of  the  war.  To  ruin  totally  the 
maritime  power  of  their  enemy  is  their  object,  and  they  have 
been  but  too  successful  in  effecting  it.  They  purchase  it 
however  at  a  price  sufficiently  dear.  The  debt  accumulates, 


388  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

the  people  really  suffer  much  by  the  war  and  are  weary  of  it. 
The  revolutionists  are  active,  restless,  indefatigable,  and  will 
finally  centre  all  their  efforts  in  one  point  which  they  con 
sider  as  an  inevitable  step  towards  all  the  others  that  they 
have  at  heart.  The  sword  of  Damocles  hangs  over  the  head 
that  wears  the  crown ;  it  is  now  protected  only  by  a  degree 
of  personal  consideration  possessed  by  the  wearer.  But 
the  apparent  successor  and  his  brothers  are  not  only  desti 
tute  of  this  shield,  but  are  continually  laying  themselves 
open  to  attack  and  daily  degrading  themselves  in  the  public 
opinion.  Their  defects  to  all  appearance  are  irretrievable, 
for  they  proceed  from  weakness  of  character  and  debility 
of  understanding.  The  combustible  materials  are  collecting 
in  such  masses  there  that  they  cannot  fail  sooner  or  later  to 
meet  a  spark  that  shall  enkindle  them,  and  the  explosion  of  a 
Revolution  will  revenge  the  injuries  of  the  human  race. 

The  prophecy  of  Rousseau,  that  the  ancient  monarchies 
of  Europe  cannot  last  much  longer,  becomes  more  and  more 
infallible.  Hereditary  prerogatives  and  hereditary  privi 
leges  are  in  their  own  nature  invidious  and  odious  to  those 
excluded  from  them.  They  have  been  maintained  only  by 
long  and  undisputed  establishment.  From  the  moment 
when  the  great  mass  of  the  nations  in  Europe  were  taught 
to  inquire,  why  is  this  or  that  man  possessed  of  such  or  such 
an  enjoyment  at  our  expense,  and  of  which  we  are  deprived, 
the  signal  was  given  of  a  civil  war  in  the  social  arrangement 
of  Europe,  which  cannot  finish  but  with  the  total  ruin  of  their 
feudal  constitutions.  The  opinions  upon  the  theory  of 
government  are  wild,  discordant  and  absurd,  but  the  republi 
can  spirit  is  diffused  everywhere.  The  essence  of  all  the 
republicanism  to  be  met  with  consists  in  aversion  to  the 
principle  of  inheritance.  But  this  aversion  is  most  exten 
sively  propagated;  it  is  profound  and  inveterate.  It  must 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  389 

eventually  lead  to  the  destruction  of  the  relics  which  yet 
remain  of  the  feudal  aristocracy.  Whether  the  arts,  the 
sciences  and  the  civilization  of  Europe  will  not  all  perish 
with  it,  must  yet  remain  a  problem.  If  the  experience  of 
France  gives  an  argument  for  analogy,  nothing  but  the  return 
of  barbarism  is  to  be  expected.  The  French  revolutions  of 
the  last  six  years  have  contributed  more  to  the  restoration 
of  Vandalic  ignorance,  than  whole  centuries  can  retrieve,  and 
their  progress  has  given  an  alarming  proof  of  what  would 
have  been  deemed  a  frantic  delirium,  had  it  been  predicted. 
It  is  that  the  arts  and  sciences  themselves,  that  genius, 
talents,  and  learning,  are  in  the  most  enlightened  periods 
of  the  human  history  liable  to  become  objects  of  proscription 
to  political  fanaticism.  The  myrmidons  of  Robespierre  were 
as  ready  to  burn  libraries  as  the  followers  of  Omar;  and  if 
the  principle  is  finally  to  prevail,  which  puts  the  scepter  of 
sovereignty  into  the  hands  of  the  European  Sans  Culottes, 
they  will  soon  reduce  everything  to  the  level  of  their  own 
ignorance. 

In  this  country  the  revolutionary  principles  have  indeed 
made  but  little  progress.  The  mass  of  the  people  is  attached 
as  much  as  ever,  perhaps  more,  to  their  old  constitution,  or 
rather  to  the  House  of  Orange.  The  caresses  of  the  new 
administration  have  made  few  converts  among  the  troops, 
who  desert  and  quit  the  service  in  such  numbers  that  the 
national  army  will  be  reduced  to  nothing.  There  is  so 
little  dependence  placed  upon  the  Swiss,  that  the  States 
General  have  determined  to  disband  them.  An  army  of 
twenty-five  thousand  Frenchmen  is  to  be  employed  in  the 
pay  of  this  Republic  instead  of  that  which  is  melting  away 
before  the  Revolution.  The  patriotic  party  is  divided,  one 
assembly  springs  up  in  opposition  to  another,  club  thunders 
against  club,  and  the  confusion  of  Babel  would  soon  be 


390  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

followed  by  the  dispersion  of  the  builders,  but  for  the  influ 
ence  and  control  of  their  new  allies,  whose  armies  are  pledged 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  public  tranquility. 

By  the  last  vessel  that  went  from  Rotterdam  to  Boston  I 
sent  you  the  work  of  Martens  and  the  Politique  des  Cabinets 
de  r Europe,  which  contains  a  memoire  of  Mr.  Turgot  during 
his  ministry,  very  deserving  of  an  American's  attention.  By 
the  present  opportunity  I  send  several  new  publications 
lately  received  from  Paris.  They  discover  in  some  degree 
the  state  of  the  public  mind,  and  furnish  materials  for  the 
history  of  a  philosophical  revolution.  The  man  that  can 
read  them  and  retain  an  ardor  for  revolutions  must  indeed 
possess  more  philosophy  than  humanity.1 

I  am,  &c. 

TO   SYLVANUS   BOURNE 

THE  HAGUE,  August  15,  1795. 

The  object  of  the  consular  office  is  the  benefit  of  merchants 
and  mariners  in  countries  other  than  their  own ;  it  is  to 
procure  facilities  and  conveniences  for  them  that  this  insti 
tution  is  appropriated.  The  legislature  will  therefore 
necessarily  consult  their  feelings  and  opinions,  and  I  am 
afraid  that  they  would  consider  consular  powers  rather  as  a 
burden  upon  them  than  as  an  advantage  to  them.  The 
spirit  of  commerce  is  averse  to  every  species  of  restraint, 

1  "The  character  of  the  American  people  is  so  universally  and  essentially  republi 
can;  civil  and  political  liberty  is  a  possession  so  thoroughly  incorporated  in  the 
existence  of  every  individual,  that  I  cannot  believe,  and  never  have  believed  the 
aristocratic  faction,  which  has  been  the  theme  of  so  much  newspaper  declamation 
among  us,  to  be  any  thing  else  than  one  of  the  loci  communes  of  men  who  were 
anxious  to  obtain  the  favor  of  their  fellow  citizens,  by  affecting  an  extraordinary 
anxiety  for  their  welfare."  To  N.  Freeman,  August  I,  1795.  Ms. 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  391 

and  it  would  probably  consider  in  that  light  every  power  of 
any  utility  that  could  be  given  to  a  consul. 

An  increase  of  emoluments  would  meet  with  the  same 
opposition.  The  system  of  economy  in  all  public  expenses 
is  in  general  carried  further  with  us  than  an  enlightened 
interest  would  advise,  and  a  generous  compensation  will  not 
readily  be  obtained  for  the  services  of  an  office,  which  in 
the  minds  of  our  countrymen  is  of  questionable  utility. 

The  consular  appointments  of  the  government  have  in 
several  instances  been  unpopular,  but  the  difficulty  of  filling 
every  place  well  would  not  disappear  by  an  augmentation 
of  powers  or  of  compensation.  It  would  even  be  increased 
in  proportion  to  them,  upon  the  natural  principle  that  the 
character  of  the  officer  should  be  confidential  in  proportion 
to  the  magnitude  of  the  trust.  To  make  the  office  an  object 
of  acceptance  to  American  citizens  qualified  to  fill  it  well, 
must  be  made  very  expensive,  for  there  are  many  European 
ports  where  there  is  a  great  commerce  with  the  United  States, 
and  where  no  American  citizen  qualified  for  such  a  station 
resides.  In  all  such  places,  if  the  principle  that  a  consul 
must  be  a  citizen  is  established,  the  office  alone  must  be 
made  an  inducement  for  a  respectable  American  citizen  to 
leave  his  country,  and  every  thing  that  is  precious  and  valu 
able  annexed  to  that  name,  in  order  to  fill  it,  or  there  must 
be  no  consul  at  the  place. 

The  misfortune  in  this  case  is  that  almost  all  the  argu 
ments  that  can  apply  to  the  subject  are  two  edged  swords, 
that  may  be  used  on  both  sides  of  the  question  :  for  instance 
all  the  examples  of  misconduct  mentioned  in  your  letter 
might  be  adduced  as  reasons  for  not  augmenting  the  authority 
or  profits  of  the  office.  Your  argument  stands  thus  :  some 
of  the  consuls  betray  their  trust ;  therefore  increase  the  im 
portance  of  the  office  and  appoint  men  who  will  not  betray 


392  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

the  trust.  But  the  opposite  arguments  :  some  of  the  con 
suls  betray  their  trust;  you  cannot  get  confidential  men 
for  the  office  without  incurring  a  heavier  expense  than  the 
public  utility  of  their  services  in  it  will  warrant ;  therefore 
do  not  make  the  office  more  important.  If  the  powers 
already  given  are  abused,  do  not  give  others,  the  abuse 
of  which  would  be  more  pernicious.  If  the  trifling  compensa 
tion  now  given  is  yet  undeserved,  be  careful  not  to  increase 
it.  ... 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE1 
No.  [EDMUND  RANDOLPH] 

THE  HAGUE,  August  20,  1795. 
DEAR  SIR: 

From  the  present  situation  of  the  nations  of  Europe,  and 
from  reflections  to  which  my  own  experience  as  well  as  that 
of  others  has  given  occasion,  it  has  occurred  to  me,  that 
some  advantage  would  be  derived  from  the  establishment 
of  some  general  rules  and  principles  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  to  serve  as  directions  to  their  agents, 
with  respect  to  the  delivery  of  passports,  or  any  other  papers, 
tending  to  procure  in  behalf  of  the  persons  to  whom  they  were 
given,  the  enjoyment  of  advantages  attending  the  charac 
ter  of  an  American  citizen. 

In  many  parts  of  Europe  at  this  time  a  passport  is  a  paper 
of  indispensable  necessity  to  every  traveller,  and  indeed  to 
every  individual  in  a  country  other  than  his  own.  Among 
the  Americans,  who  are  at  this  time  in  great  numbers  in 
different  parts  of  Europe,  some  few  have  taken  the  precau 
tion  to  provide  themselves  with  passports  from  the  Depart- 

1  Randolph  retired  from  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  August  20,  and  Pickering 
was  acting  Secretary  until  December  10,  when  he  received  a  commission  as  Secretary. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  393 

ment  of  State ;  but  the  far  greater  number  come  from  home 
without  any,  and  of  course  apply  for  them  to  the  Ministers 
or  other  agents  of  the  United  States,  in  the  countries  where 
they  respectively  are,  when  they  find  the  need  of  such  a 
paper.  It  happens  not  unfrequently  under  these  circum 
stances,  that  a  real  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  fully 
entitled  to  their  protection,  appears  to  demand  a  passport, 
without  having  any  such  proof  of  his  citizenship,  as  the  rigor 
of  all  judicial  tribunals  would  require  as  evidence  of  facts. 
At  the  same  time  there  are  great  numbers  of  impostors  who 
oftenendeavor  fraudulently  to  obtain  passports  as  Americans. 
The  inattention,  which  is  common  with  those  of  the  first 
class,  facilitates  the  success  of  the  others,  and  where  the 
delivery  of  passports  is  left  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  every 
individual  agent,  there  must  be  danger  that  the  protection 
of  the  United  States  will  be  extended  where  it  is  not  due, 
or  denied  where  it  is. 

The  special  evidence  of  citizenship  required  by  some  of 
the  consuls,  is  a  certificate  from  the  proper  office  in  any  one 
of  the  United  States.  This  is  a  species  of  evidence  so  custom 
ary  and  apparently  so  substantial,  that  in  the  present 
state  of  things  it  cannot  reasonably  be  rejected  as  incompe 
tent  to  authorize  the  demand  of  a  passport.  But  in  truth 
it  is  a  species  of  evidence  often  possessed  by  persons  who  have 
very  little  claim  to  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  be 
sides  its  being  liable  to  pass  into  hands  that  have  no  right 
to  it  at  all. 

There  is  many  an  European  who,  having  resided  a  year  or 
two  in  some  one  of  the  United  States,  and  having  been 
naturalized  for  his  personal  convenience,  has  returned  to 
Europe  with  his  certificate  in  his  pocket,  which  he  now 
employs  to  claim  all  the  privileges  of  the  American  name. 
In  conformity  to  the  universal  practise,  I  have  thought 


394  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

myself  not  at  liberty  to  refuse  passports  to  naturalized 
citizens ;  but  it  has  appeared  to  me  that  when  an  adopted 
member  of  any  political  association  ceases  to  bear  any 
portion  of  its  burthens,  he  cannot  in  reason  and  justice 
claim  its  correlative  protection.  The  late  naturalization 
law  will,  however,  reform  the  tendency  to  such  abuses  in 
future.1 

The  flag  of  the  United  States  is  liable  to  the  same  misuse 
with  the  character  of  citizen,  and  owing  to  the  same  reasons. 
The  advantages  of  a  neutral  flag,  insulted  and  abused  as  it 
has  been,  and  still  is,  are  however  so  great  that  every  expedi 
ent  has  been  used  to  procure  it  for  many  vessels  that  have 
never  been  out  of  the  European  seas.  The  consuls  have 
been  applied  to  for  papers  to  serve  as  substitutes  to  those 
which  belong  to  vessels  of  the  United  States,  and  some  of 
them  have  accordingly  delivered  papers  more  or  less  irregu 
lar.  It  has  been  observed  to  me  repeatedly  by  Europeans, 
that  the  American  flag  is  often  worn  by  vessels  having  no 
right  to  it,  and  it  has  been  a  subject  of  complaint  from  several 
Americans,  whose  fair  trade  is  injured  by  this  unauthorized 
participation.  In  one  of  the  instances  mentioned  in  my 
last  letter,  the  captain  of  an  English  built  vessel  assumed  the 
flag  of  the  United  States  without  any  papers  whatever,  and 
upon  the  sole  ground  that  he  was  himself  an  American 
citizen.2  It  is  not  supposed  that  the  mere  personal  title 
of  the  captain  can  authorize  the  employment  of  the  Ameri 
can  colors.  Whether  any  papers  that  can  be  delivered  by  a 
consul  have  more  efficacy  to  communicate  the  right,  is  at 
least  questionable ;  but  if  consular  papers  are  understood 
to  have  a  validity  for  this  effect,  it  would  perhaps  be  useful 

1  Law  of  January  29,  1795,  Statutes  at  Large,  I.  414. 

2  Charles  Cowing,  whose  arrest  came  to  the  notice  of  Adams  through  Joshua 
Barney,  then  in  command  of  a  French  ship  of  the  line. 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  395 

that  their  discretion  should  be  guided  in  the  delivery  of 
them  by  the  instructions  of  the  government. 

Such  instructions  may  possibly  be  especially  necessary 
to  those  consuls  of  the  United  States  who  are  themselves 
foreigners,  and  from  their  particular  situations  and  interests, 
may  be  more  susceptible  of  giving  an  extension  rather  too 
liberal  to  the  participation  of  privileges  that  belong  prop 
erly  to  Americans  or  citizens  of  a  neutral  nation. 

The  consuls  with  whom  I  have  been  in  regular  correspond 
ence  make  repeated  complaints  of  the  footing  of  the  con 
sular  establishment  at  present.  They  are  of  opinion  that 
the  powers  and  emoluments  annexed  to  the  office  are  equally 
incompetent.  The  representations  of  Mr.  Delius  l  have 
heretofore  been  transmitted  to  your  department,  and  I 
understand  from  Mr.  Bourne  that  he  has  more  than  once 
written  to  you  upon  the  subject  himself. 

The  relative  situation  of  the  United  States  towards  the 
nations  of  Europe  since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
maritime  war  is  new,  and  its  state  of  neutrality  naturally 
occasions  a  variety  of  combinations,  which  may  deserve 
the  attention  of  the  government  in  a  greater  degree  than 
their  intrinsic  importance  could  claim.  The  misuse  of  the 
flag,  the  juggling  of  a  passport,  or  even  the  occasional  irregu 
lar  employment  of  official  means  for  the  furtherance  of 
foreign  commercial  speculations,  may  be  in  every  single 
instance  of  minor  importance;  but  when  the  examples  are 
frequently  repeated,  when  they  may  be  attended  with 
consequences  involving  more  or  less  the  national  interest, 
and  when  they  result  from  a  state  of  things  which,  although 
temporary,  will  perhaps  be  frequently  renewed,  it  is  viewed 
as  an  obligation  of  duty  to  those  within  whose  observation 
such  facts  are  placed  to  give  notice  of  them. 

1  Arnold  Delius,  of  Bremen. 


396  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

With  respect  to  passports,  it  might  be  of  public  utility  that 
the  American  agents  be  instructed  to  deliver  them  in  such 
cases  as  the  government  may  think  proper  to  prescribe, 
and  upon  the  previous  production  of  some  special  evidence 
in  support  of  the  demand.  But  in  order  to  avoid  an  un 
favorable  operation  of  any  such  regulation  u*pon  many  real 
American  citizens,  they  must  be  in  general  aware  of  the 
importance  to  their  own  interest,  that  they  should  always 
take  passports,  or  at  least  the  evidence  upon  which  they 
may  be  entitled  to  demand  them,  before  they  sail  from  the 
United  States.  Upon  the  subject  of  the  flag,  some  sort  of 
directions  particular  to  those  consuls  or  agents  who  are  not 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  may  prevent  the  repetition  of 
abuses  which  have  taken  place.1 

I  have  the  honor,  &c. 

LETTER  OF  CREDENCE 
To  OUR  GREAT  AND  GOOD  FRIEND  His  BRITANNIC  MAJESTY 

Great  and  Good  Friend. 

To  testify  to  your  Majesty  the  sincerity  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States  in  its  negotiations,  I  have  transmitted  to  John 
Quincy  Adams,  Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America 
at  the  Hague,  the  Ratification  of  the  Treaty  of  Amity,  Commerce 
and  Navigation,  concluded  and  signed  on  the  iQth  day  of  Novem 
ber,  1794,  by  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  your  Majesty  and  of  the 
United  States  :  and  the  said  John  Quincy  Adams  is  instructed  to 
take  the  necessary  measures  for  the  exchange  of  the  Ratifications. 
I  beseech  your  Majesty,  therefore,  to  give  full  credence  to  whatever 
he  shall  say  to  you,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  concerning  the 
same ;  and  to  receive  the  said  Ratification  in  the  name  of,  and 
on  the  part  of,  the  United  States  of  America,  when  it  shall  be 

1  See  Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II.  320. 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  397 

tendered  by  him.     I  pray  God  to  have  your  Majesty  in  his  holy 
keeping. 

Written  at  Philadelphia  this  25th  day  of  August  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1795. 

(Signed)  GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

By  the  special  command  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

(Signed)    TIMOTHY  PICKERING, 
at  this  time  executing  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State. 

INSTRUCTIONS 
DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  August  25,  1795. 

Separate  instructions  for  Mr.  Adams,  relative  to  the  exchange  of 
ratifications,  which  Mr.  Deas  will  be  directed  to  execute,  if 
Mr.  Adams  does  not  go  over  before  the  2Oth  Day  of  October, 
1795- 
SIR, 

The  first  part  of  the  business,  for  which  you  are  called  to  London 
by  my  letter  of  the  14  instant,  is  the  exchange  of  ratifications 
of  the  late  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

The  documents,  now  transmitted,  as  relating  thereto,  are  I,  a 
copy  of  that  letter;  2,  a  printed  but  authentic  copy  of  the  treaty 
and  resolution  of  the  Senate  advising  the  ratification  ;  3,  a  copy 
of  the  memorial  from  the  Department  of  State  to  the  British  min 
ister  plenipotentiary  near  the  United  States ;  and  4,  a  letter  from 
the  President  to  his  Britannic  majesty,  indicating  the  functions, 
which  you  are  destined  to  fulfil. 

At  the  earliest  possible  moment  after  your  arrival  in  London, 
you  will  communicate  to  the  proper  persons  belonging  to  the 
British  ministry,  your  mission,  as  stated  in  the  memorial ;  and 
request  that  the  conferences  necessary  to  its  conclusion,  may  be 
expedited. 

When  you  shall  come  into  conference,  you  will  declare,  that  you 
are  possessed  of  the  ratification,  as  it  was  promised  in  the  memo 
rial  ;  but  that  you  are  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  existence  of  a 


398  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

late  order,  said  to  be  issued  under  the  authority  of  his  Britannic 
majesty,  for  the  seizure  of  the  provision  vessels,  even  of  neutral 
nations.1  If  the  order  does  not  exist,  or  existing  does  not  op 
erate  on  the  vessels  of  the  United  States,  you  will  proceed  to 
accomplish  the  exchange  of  ratifications,  as  is  hereinafter  men 
tioned.  If  the  order  does  exist,  and  does  operate  on  the  vessels  of 
the  United  States,  you  will  make  such  representations,  as  that  order 
shall  suggest  relative  to  the  interests  and  situation  of  the  United 
States ;  to  the  end  that  it  may  be  removed ;  and  particularly, 
that  the  ratification  of  the  President  must  not  be  construed  into 
an  admission  of  the  legality  of  the  said  order.  Minute  instructions 
cannot  now  be  given,  concerning  that  order,  as  our  accounts  of  it 
are  very  imperfect.  But  if  after  every  prudent  effort,  you  find 
that  it  cannot  be  removed,  its  continuance  is  not  to  be  an  obstacle 
to  the  exchange  of  ratifications. 

When,  therefore,  these  preliminaries  as  to  the  order  shall  be 
finished,  you  will  produce  the  President's  ratification ;  and  offer  to 
exchange  the  same,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  for  an  equivalent 
ratification  on  the  part  of  his  Britannic  majesty ;  that  is,  for  a 
ratification,  corresponding  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate. 

The  negotiations  to  be  made  after  the  exchange  of  ratifications 
will  be  marked  out  in  other  instructions. 

If  on  the  part  of  the  British  King  a  ratification  shall  be  exchanged, 
conformably  with  that  of  the  President ;  then  you  will  immediately 
dispatch,  by  the  most  expeditious  and  safe  conveyances,  three 
copies  of  the  British  ratification,  addressed  to  this  Department. 
For  the  attainment  of  expedition  and  safety,  you  will  be  at  liberty 
to  incur  a  reasonable  expense.  Congress  will  meet  on  the  first 
Monday  in  December  next,  and  it  is  therefore  desireable  that  the 
British  ratification  should  be  here  early  enough  for  the  taking 
of  certain  necessary  steps,  concerning  the  treaty  before  that  time. 

1  This  order  in  council  was  issued  in  April,  1795,  but  the  text  was  not  published. 
It  was  soon  after  revoked,  and  compensation  made  for  seizures  under  it  was  ob 
tained  under  Article  VII  of  the  Jay  treaty. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  399 

You  will  also,  in  the  event  of  an  exchange  of  ratifications,  urge 
that  orders  be  immediately  given  for  the  execution  of  the  second 
article,  respecting  the  evacuation  of  the  posts,  and  for  the  proper 
measures,  which  are  thereby  provided  to  be  taken  by  concert 
between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  the  British 
Governor  General  in  America  for  settling  the  previous  arrange 
ments,  which  may  be  necessary,  respecting  the  delivery  of  the  said 
posts. 

The  agreement  which  is  to  be  made  in  pursuance  of  the  8th 
article,  respecting  the  pay  of  commissioners,  will  also  be  attended 
to.  In  the  fixing  of  the  quantum,  you  will  observe  due  economy. 
Mr.  Hammond  has  intimated  £150x3  sterling  per  annum  to  each; 
except  the  commissioners  for  determining  the  river  St  Croix,  for 
whom  £1000  per  annum  was  proposed.  Beyond  these  sums  you 
are  not  to  go,  and  you  will  endeavor  to  reduce  them  as  low  as 
propriety  will  admit. 

If  his  Britannic  majesty  shall  refuse  to  ratify  on  the  condition 
required  by  the  Senate,  you  will  say,  that  being  possessed  of  only 
one  form  of  ratification,  you  will  without  delay  forward  to  the 
President  his  said  majesty's  determination  ;  and  will  wait  without 
taking  a  definite  step,  until  you  shall  receive  further  orders.  In 
this  case  you  will  perceive  the  importance  of  the  information  to  us ; 
and  that  it  will  be  necessary,  unless  you  have  at  least  two  im 
mediate  opportunities,  to  hire  an  advice  boat  to  bring  the  intelli 
gence  to  Philadelphia,  or  to  some  port,  near  at  hand. 

If  Mr.  Pinckney  should  unexpectedly  return  to  London  before 
this  part  of  the  business  is  finished,  you  will  place  it  in  his  hands 
(he  being  the  ordinary  minister,  and  having  co-operated  in  the 
negotiation) ;  unless,  indeed,  it  shall  appear  to  Mr.  Pinckney 
unadviseable  for  him  to  enter  into  it.  By  the  special  command  of 
the  President. 

TIMOTHY  PICKERING, 

at  this  time  executing  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State. 


400  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  August  31,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

The  total  defeat  of  the  emigrants  who  had  effected  a 
descent  in  Britanny,  as  mentioned  in  my  last  letter,  and  the 
peace  between  France  and  Spain,  signed  at  Basle  on  the  22nd 
of  July,  and  since  ratified  by  both  parties,  are  events  of 
such  consequence  that  they  will  be  fully  known  in  America 
before  this  letter  can  reach  you.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
that  any  interesting  intelligence  should  be  first  conveyed 
from  hence  to  America.  The  local  position  of  the  country 
forbids  it,  and  although  I  have  constantly  taken  all  possible 
pains  to  communicate  the  most  recent  news,  as  far  as  I  can 
conjecture  from  the  dates  when  I  presume  my  letters 
have  been  received,  I  must  conclude  that  in  general  they 
have  only  been  corroborative  of  accounts  contained  in  news 
papers  already  out  of  date. 

A  circumstance  which  upon  the  brilliant  theories  of  human 
perfectibility  ought  to  be  considered  as  much  more  important 
than  either  of  the  former,  is  the  adoption  by  the  Convention 
of  the  Constitution  lately  proposed  by  the  Committee  of 
Eleven.  Several  considerable  alterations  have  been  the  re 
sult  of  a  discussion  which  has  lasted  nearly  two  months,  but 
the  division  of  the  legislative  body  into  two  Councils,  and 
the  attribution  of  the  executive  power  to  a  third  assembly  of 
five  persons  with  the  title  of  Directory,  are  retained.  The 
people  and  the  armies  are  still  to  pronounce  upon  the  whole 
plan,  and  then  nothing  will  remain  but  to  destroy  it  by 
another  revolution,  which  will  probably  take  place  in  less 
than  a  thousand  years. 

It  is  worth  remarking  that  in  the  midst  of  the  deliberations 
upon  this  democratic  constitution  (for  they  still  give  it 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  401 

that  epithet  without  any  scruples,)  the  Great  Sieyes,  as  one 
of  my  honest  Dutch  friends  calls  him,  came  out  with  another 
democratic  Constitution,  upon  a  plan  entirely  new  and  en 
tirely  his  own.  This  prodigy  of  genius  consisted  in  the 
invention  of  three  or  four  new  words,  and  in  a  sort  of  amal 
gamation  of  the  system  proposed  by  the  Committee  of 
eleven,  with  an  institution  similar  to  that  of  the  Parlia 
ments  under  the  ancien  regime.  His  legislature  was  to  be 
merely  a  judicial  tribunal,  whose  functions  should  be  to 
decide  between  a  petitioning  assembly  and  a  government. 
But  as  three  assemblies  were  not  enough  for  him,  he  pro 
posed  a  fourth,  whose  sole  functions  should  be  to  make  such 
alterations  as  from  time  to  time  should  be  found  necessary 
in  the  existing  Constitution.  The  great  Sieyes  applauds 
himself  and  congratulates  his  country  for  having  originated 
the  luminous  idea  of  this  institution,  and  indeed  some 
persons  are  of  opinion  that  this  Assembly  would  be  more 
constantly  busy  than  any  of  the  others.  The  Convention, 
however,  unanimously  rejected  the  plan,  and  Sieyes  the 
great  has  doubtless  put  it  back  into  his  porte-feuille,  to  be 
used  upon  the  next  occasion  that  shall  offer  for  making  a 
democratic  constitution  for  France. 

He  did  not,  however,  suffer  the  occasion  to  pass  by  without 
repeating  the  elegant  pleasantry  of  Franklin,  of  Mirabcau, 
and  of  Condorcet,  upon  the  system  of  balances.  Upon  this 
subject,  together  with  an  abundance  of  witticisms  from  the 
very  refuse  of  commonplace,  he  advanced  several  things, 
for  which  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  the  credit  is  to 
be  given  partly  to  his  ignorance,  or  whether  it  is  all  due  to 
deliberate  intention  and  a  philosophical  disregard  for  truth. 

He  said  for  instance  that  the  idea  of  separating  the  Constit 
uent  authority  from  that  of  the  ordinary  legislative  power 
originated  in  France,  that  it  was  a  glorious  discovery  for 

2D 


402  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

which  all  the  credit  was  due  to  the  French  nation,   and 
that  it  was  made  in  the  year  1789. 

In  his  past-vamp'd-future-old-reviv'd-new  piece  of  decla 
mation  against  the  balancing  system,  he  says  : 

I  shall  not  insist  upon  the  example  of  England,  because  the 
hereditary  stain  that  is  annexed  to  the  system  there,  is  a  defect 
not  essential  to  the  system  itself  and  cannot  fairly  be  charged  to  it, 
but  only  examine  what  the  practical  effect  of  the  system  is  every 
where  else  where  it  is  established.  The  double  legislature  is,  as  has 
been  said,  like  two  horses  pulling  the  chariot  in  opposite  directions. 
With  all  their  pulling  the  chariot  moves  not  an  inch,  until  the 
royal  coachman  mounts  the  box.  Now  you  do  not  chuse  to  have 
a  royal  coachman.  Wherever  this  system  prevails  the  legislative 
assemblies  are  mere  formal  shadows,  and  the  real  legislator  is 
the  executive  power. 

These  opinions,  or  pretended  opinions,  thus  expressed, 
appear  to  me  very  remarkable,  and  they  are  the  more  so 
because  they  come  from  a  man,  who  seems  to  affect  the 
government  of  the  earth,  who  has  in  fact  that  of  France 
in  a  great  degree,  and  who  possesses  all  the  qualities  by 
which  the  late  Roman  historian  says  that  Augustus  was 
conducted  to  that  of  the  world. 

The  primary  Assemblies  who  are  to  decide  upon  the  Con 
stitution  are  to  be  convoked  on  the  6th  of  next  month, 
and  the  Constitutional  Legislature  is  to  be  elected  immedi 
ately  after.  The  precipitation  with  which  the  business  is 
conducted  is  grounded  upon  the  necessity  they  are  under 
to  leave  no  time  for  the  formation  of  cabals  against  the 
acceptance.  There  is  another  measure  which  cannot  easily 
be  reconciled  with  the  Constitutional  theory,  but  which 
may  be  legitimated  by  the  omnipotent  argument  of  necessity. 
At  the  first  election  for  the  Constitutional  Legislature  the 
choice  of  the  people  is  not  to  have  an  unlimited  liberty. 


i795l  JOHN  QUIXCY  ADAMS  403 

Five  hundred  members  of  the  present  Convention  must  be 
chosen,  or  rather  the  Assembly  has  decreed  that  it  will  change 
itself  into  a  Constitutional  Legislature,  one-third  of  the 
numbers  of  which  are  to  be  rcchosen,  or  changed,  by  a  new 
election.  They  are  afraid  of  the  consequences  that  would 
result  at  the  present  moment  from  an  appeal  to  the  voice  of 
the  people,  without  prescribing  two-thirds  of  what  that 
voice  must  answer.1 

Upon  the  same  principle  at  one  of  the  last  sessions  of 
the  Convention  they  dissolved  at  one  stroke  all  the  popular 
societies  throughout  the  Republic.  Their  books  and  papers 
are  ordered  to  be  delivered  up  to  the  respective  munici 
palities,  and  the  halls  of  their  assembly  arc  to  be  shut  up 
forever.  Such  is  the  present  system.  The  popular  societies 
have  been  the  most  efficacious  of  all  the  instruments  cm- 
ployed  by  the  tyranny  under  which  France  has  recently 
suffered,  and  they  are  formally  proscribed  by  the  proposed 
constitution.  But  they  appear  not  less  than  Archangel 
ruined,  and  are  still  extremely  formidable.2 

1  The  decrees  of  Fructidor  5  and  13,  which  led  to  the  overthrow  of  this  Consti 
tution  of  1795. 

1  "It  is  not  surprising  that  the  French  government  should  so  openly  discounte 
nance  these  Societies  in  this  country,  because,  independent  of  the  numerous  evils, 
which  their  own  experience  has  convinced  them  to  be  the  result  of  such  institutions, 
they  perhaps  expect  to  find  from  that  quarter  the  greatest  impediments  to  the 
species  of  influence  which  they  intend  to  possess  and  use  in  the  concerns  of  this 
republic.  The  clubs  arc  restless  and  unmanageable,  and  being  spread  all  over  the 
country,  would  be  much  more  unwieldy  as  objects  of  direction,  than  authorities 
legally  constituted,  and  assembled  in  one  spot.  Nor  is  it  an  unreasonable  conjec 
ture,  that  in  the  progress  of  these  institutions,  a  coalition  between  those  of  France 
and  of  the  Low  Countries  for  their  mutual  support  may  be  attempted ;  and  that 
it  may  be  considered  as  very  formidable  to  the  French  government.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  complacency  of  the  legal  assemblies  here  towards  the  same  clubs,  and 
even  the  parade  of  eulogium  they  bestow  on  them,  is  not  less  accountable;  it  is 
founded  upon  the  consciousness  that  the  clubs  internally  have  all  the  powers  of  the 
people  in  their  hands,  and  that  the  legislative  bodies  have  no  support,  other  than 
that  of  the  French  troops."  To  the  Secretary  of  State,  July '25,  1795.  Ms. 


404  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

But  the  victory  of  the  party  called  Moderates  over  that 
of  the  Jacobins  is  so  nearly  complete,  that  it  has  already 
divided  itself  into  two  parties,  who  are  upon  terms  of  mu 
tual  opposition,  and  may  very  soon  be  at  open  war.  They 
consist  on  one  side  of  the  fragments  of  the  Brissotine 
party,  and  on  the  other  of  the  persons  who  contrived  and 
executed  the  catastrophe  of  Robespierre,  and  who  on  that 
account  are  called  the  Thermidorian  party.  The  present 
subjects  of  difference  between  them  appear  to  be  the  different 
degrees  of  extension  that  they  are  disposed  to  give  to  the 
reaction  of  the  Revolution.  The  Brissotines  are  the  strongest 
in  the  Convention,  but  the  other  party  seems  to  coincide 
more  with  the  present  temper  of  the  popular  opinion. 
The  renewal  of  the  legislative  Assembly  in  two  houses,  and 
the  supposed  transition  from  a  Revolutionary  to  a  constitu 
tional  government,  will  undoubtedly  be  a  critical  moment, 
and  will  produce  new  political  phenomena  for  observation. 

They  suppose  in  Paris  that  their  peace  with  Spain  will 
produce  of  necessity  a  rupture  between  the  latter  and  Great 
Britain,  as  the  cession  of  the  Spanish  part  of  St.  Domingo  is 
contrary  to  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  which  will  furnish  a 
pretext,  and  the  defenceless  opulence  of  the  Spanish  com 
merce  will  give  a  motive  to  the  British  ministry.  It  seems 
as  if  no  calculation  can  be  too  extravagant  for  the  desperation 
of  that  government,  but  I  have  as  yet  no  faith  in  their  making 
war  against  Spain  for  the  present,  though  there  is  no  doubt 
but  it  is  wished  at  Paris  they  may. 

They  are  also  dissatisfied  with  the  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  as  I  wrote  you  more  than 
three  months  since  that  they  would  be,  whatever  the  con 
tents  of  the  treaty  might  be.  At  that  time  they  did  not 
blush  to  say  that  to  be  upon  bad  terms  with  Britain  was 
an  obligation  of  gratitude  incumbent  upon  the  United  States  ; 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  405 

and  at  present  they  are  displeased  with  the  articles  because 
they  are  so  with  the  treaty  itself. 

What  effects  their  influence  will  produce  in  America  I 
know  not.  But  that  it  will  work  with  all  its  power,  I  am 
very  certain.  I  have  reason  to  suppose,  however,  that  they 
think  their  two  last  Ministers  in  the  United  States  have 
spent  them  too  much  money  there,  and  the  principal  reason 
for  which  they  recalled  the  last  was  the  expense  of  his  bad 
bargains,  which  have  hitherto  procured  them  nothing  but 
grain  and  flour.  Their  new  Minister's  instructions  will 
doubtless  oblige  him  to  greater  economy.  I  know  not 
whether  they  will  lose  their  influence  on  that  account. 

The  present  war  is  at  this  time  nothing  more  in  reality  than 
a  contest  of  national  rivalship  between  France  and  Britain. 
The  interest  of  all  the  maritime  nations  is  opposed  to  the 
success  of  the  latter,  and  the  French  naval  power  has  suffered 
such  heavy  losses,  and  is  so  much  reduced,  that  they  can 
henceforth  have  no  hopes  of  being  able  to  resist  that  of  their 
enemy,  but  by  uniting  all  the  maritime  force  in  Europe  with 
their  own  against  it.  They  arc  also  desirous  that  the  United 
States  should  be  engaged  on  their  side,  for  the  benefit  of  an 
assistance  negative  in  its  nature,  as  Britain  would  be  de 
prived  of  the  great  and  growing  profit  of  her  commerce 
with  us  in  the  case  of  a  war.  The  system  of  neutrality 
which  has  been  pursued  with  so  much  firmness  and  per 
severance  by  the  United  States  has  never  been  perfectly 
relished  by  the  French  governing  men.  It  becomes  more 
and  more  unpleasant  to  them  in  proportion  as  the  necessity 
of  peace  is  felt  more  forcibly  by  themselves,  and  the  policy 
employed  by  them  for  effecting  their  purpose  is  to  attack 
the  President  of  the  United  States.  This  has 'been,  I  am 
fully  convinced,  the  real  system  from  the  time  when  Genet 
was  sent,  and  it  will  be  pursued  with  more  or  less  consistency 


406  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

until  they  succeed  in  drawing  us  into  a  war,  or  until  they 
shall  be  at  peace.  The  art  of  destroying  reputations,  if  it 
had  not  always  been  well  understood  in  France,  might  have 
attained  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection  merely  by  the 
experience  of  their  last  years.  It  has  been  practised  with 
such  universal  success  among  themselves,  by  all  their 
parties  and  under  all  their  changes,  that  it  is  reduced  to  a 
regular  system,  the  operation  of  which  is  merely  mechanical. 

The  affairs  of  this  country  though  intimately  connected 
with  those  of  France  bear  an  aspect  entirely  different.  The 
popular  societies  which  are  altogether  proscribed  in  that 
Republic  are  very  powerful  here.  There  is  now  in  session 
at  this  place  an  assembly  styling  itself  a  central  club,  con 
sisting  of  deputies  from  most  of  the  clubs  throughout  the 
Province ;  there  are  others  of  the  same  kind  in  the  other 
Provinces.  The  great  object  of  their  pursuit  is  the  disso 
lution  of  the  Provincial  government,  and  the  assembling 
of  a  National  Convention  for  the  whole  people.  This 
plan  is  extremely  popular  in  this  Province ;  it  has  met  how 
ever  with  strenuous  opposition  from  five  of  the  others,  but 
will  finally  prevail  by  the  means  of  the  popular  societies. 

In  the  meantime  they  are  under  a  constant  apprehension  of 
being  invaded  on  the  part  of  Prussia.  They  have  an 
army  of  twenty-five  thousand  French  troops  for  their  de 
fence,  but  a  great  proportion  of  their  own  army  has  deserted. 

They  have  at  length  made  their  appearance  with  their 
naval  armament,  and  by  the  junction  of  all  the  forces  they 
could  muster  they  were  two  or  three  days  at  sea  with  six 
or  eight  ships  of  the  line  and  as  many  frigates.  But  the 
condition  of  the  ships  was  such  that  they  could  scarcely 
keep  above  water,  and  upon  the  first  suspicion  of  the  ap 
proach  of  the  British  and  Russian  fleet  they  returned  to 
the  Texel,  where  they  now  remain.  They  have  recently 


1795)  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  407 

had  one  frigate  taken  after  a  severe  action  against  superior 
force. 

Their  commerce  in  the  meantime  is  a  mere  passive  victim 
to  the  British  force  at  sea,  and  their  East  India  Company  is 
losing  all  their  ships  one  after  the  other,  without  being 
able  to  lift  a  hand  for  their  protection. 

The  public  treasury  is  empty.  They  have  to  pay  between 
one  and  two  hundred  millions  of  florins  for  arrearages,  the 
remainder  of  an  hundred  millions  for  the  friendship  of  France, 
and  the  heavy  expenses  which  daily  accrue  from  their  state 
of  war,  besides  those  to  which  they  are  at  all  times  subjected.1 

The  plate  of  every  individual  has  already  been  required 
for  the  public  exigencies  and  delivered.  A  dry  tax  of  six  per 
cent  upon  all  capitals  is  to  be  paid  before  the  end  of  the  year, 
and  will  be  far  from  supplying  the  monies  that  are  immedi 
ately  wanted.  The  scarcity  of  provisions  has  been  great, 
but  much  exaggerated  ;  there  have  not  been  the  symptoms 
of  a  famine,  and  the  harvest  now  gathering  is  uncommonly 
favorable. 

The  scarcity  has  been  also  great  in  England.  It  is  in 
conceivable  how  the  government  of  that  country  retain  all 
their  force,  and  how  the  price  of  their  funds  is  supported 
in  the  midst  of  their  losses  and  defeats.  Their  naval  success 
and  the  force  of  national  antipathy  are  the  only  things  that 
can  account  for  it.  They  have  not  as  yet  discovered  any 
intention  whatever  to  negotiate  with  France,  though  it  is 
pretended  that  a  division  has  taken  place  in  the  Privy  Council 

1  "The  French  assignats  have  never  had  a  compulsive  circulation  here  except 
in  a  very  limited  degree,  and  for  the  necessary  supply  of  the  French  troops.  Since 
the  treaty  of  alliance,  and  since  the  French  army  in  this  country  is  engaged  in  the 
pay  of  this  government,  the  assignats  have  no  other  course  than  as  merchandize, 
and  their  price  current  is  contained  in  the  commercial  paper  enclosed ;  they  are  now 
at  about  forty-five  for  one."  To  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  September  8, 
1795.  Ms. 


4o8  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

upon  the  subject.  They  are  perhaps  yet  waiting  for  the 
result  of  new  revolutions,  which  they  expect  will  happen  in 
France ;  but  they  will  probably  find  themselves  deceived 
in  their  hopes  arising  from  that  source.  The  campaign 
of  this  year  will  probably  be  productive  of  scarce  any 
important  effect,  and  it  is  very  certain  that  no  country  can 
support  long  a  war  with  an  annual  expense  of  twenty-four 
million  sterling  to  keep  a  status  quo.  In  short  the  true  state 
of  facts  appears  to  be,  that  France  and  Britain  are  both 
reduced  to  the  greatest  extremity,  and  that  at  present  they 
both  persist  in  war  from  the  sole  hope  that  the  enemy  will 
first  yield  to  their  pressure  of  misery.  Such  is  the  usual 
issue  of  war. 
I  am,  &c. 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  September  12,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

I  received  two  days  ago  your  letter  from  New  York  of 
June  29.  It  gratified  my  highest  ambition,  as  it  testifies 
the  approbation  of  the  President  and  the  Secretaries  upon 
my  conduct  and  correspondence,  and  my  strongest  affections, 
as  it  informed  me  of  the  health  of  my  dearest  friends.1 

1"I  have  no  language  to  express  to  you  the  pleasure  I  have  received  from  the 
satisfaction  you  have  given  to  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State,  as  well  as  from 
the  clear,  comprehensive  and  masterly  accounts  in  your  letters  to  me  of  the  public 
affairs  of  nations  in  Europe,  whose  situation  and  politics  it  most  concerns  us  to 
know.  Go  on,  my  dear  son,  and  by  a  diligent  exertion  of  your  genius  and  abilities, 
continue  to  deserve  well  of  your  father,  but  especially  of  your  country.  The  more 
faithfully  you  have  discharged  and  fulfilled  your  duty  to  me,  the  more  anxious  I 
have  been  lest  I  may  not  have  fulfilled  mine  to  you  with  so  much  punctuality."  John 
Adams  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  Quincy,  April  26,  1795,  Ms.  Four  of  the  letters 
were  sent  to  President  Washington,  who  wrote  to  John  Adams,  August  20,  1795  : 
"They  contain  a  great  deal  of  interesting  matter,  and  No.  9  [May  22]  discloses 
much  important  information  and  political  insight.  Mr.  J.  Adams,  your  son,  must 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  409 

At  the  same  time  I  received  a  letter  from  my  brother 
Charles,  and  papers  with  accounts  of  popular  movements 
in  opposition  to  the  treaty,  which  give  me  great  anxiety. 
They  were  not  indeed  unexpected  to  me,  because  I  have 
long  since  been  satisfied  that  the  most  powerful  engines  of 
influence  among  us  would  be  set  at  work  upon  this  occasion. 
My  letters  from  the  month  of  May  to  this  time  will  give  you 
my  opinions  and  conjectures  on  the  subject;  they  are  cor 
roborated  by  the  accounts  that  we  now  receive  from  America, 
and  they  give  me  great  solicitude,  as  they  renew  the  danger 
of  war,  which  I  had  hopes  was  blown  over  for  the  present. 
It  is  a  danger  so  much  the  more  formidable,  because  I  be 
lieve  the  intention  is  to  draw  the  United  States  into  it, 
merely  to  make  tools  of  them,  in  order  to  procure  advan 
tageous  terms  for  others,  who  would  leave  us  in  the  well, 
after  using  our  weight  to  get  themselves  out  of  it.  It  would 
be  a  war  in  which  we  should  have  everything  to  lose  and 
nothing  to  gain ;  a  war  commenced  against  the  will  of  al 
most  the  whole  people,  and  which  therefore  under  such  a 
government  as  ours  could  not  be  carried  on  with  success. 
The  chain  of  consequences  which  present  themselves  to 
my  mind  as  inevitable  from  such  a  source  can  afford  but  a 
wretched  contemplation,  and  my  greatest  hopes  of  a  more 
favorable  futurity  arise  from  firmness  and  resolution  of  the 
government. 

The  conduct  of  the  British  government  is  so  well  adapted 
to  increasing  our  danger  of  war,  that  I  cannot  but  suppose 
they  are  secretly  inclined  to  produce  it.  An  American  can 
not  know,  without  seeing  Europe  to  witness  the  fact,  with 

not  think  of  retiring  from  the  walk  he  is  in.  His  prospects,  if  he  continues  in  it  are 
fair,  and  I  shall  be  much  mistaken  if,  in  as  short  a  period  as  can  well  be  expected* 
he  is  not  found  at  the  head  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  let  the  government  be  admin 
istered  by  whomsoever  the  people  may  choose."  Ms. 


410  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

what  pleasure  and  exultation  all  the  partizans  of  monarchy 
receive  accounts  of  any  popular  commotions  in  America. 
The  insurrection  of  the  last  summer  was  a  delicious  feast 
for  them,1  and  they  did  not  fail  to  make  the  most  liberal  use 
of  it ;  they  will  undoubtedly  do  the  same  upon  this  occasion. 
They  are  all  inimical  to  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
because  it  furnishes  a  constant  example  to  those  who  main 
tain  the  superior  excellence  of  a  Republican  system.  They 
wish  to  see  some  proof  of  extravagance  or  folly  in  America, 
which  they  can  have  the  pleasure  of  attributing  to  the  prev 
alence  of  republicanism,  as  they  have  done  very  success 
fully  with  respect  to  the  frenzies  of  France. 

As  to  the  treaty  itself,  the  objection  to  the  condition  of 
the  twelfth  article  appears  to  be  well  grounded ;  it  was  not 
in  the  plan  which  was  shown  to  me  when  I  was  in  London, 
and  of  which  I  wrote  you  from  thence,  and  I  should  have 
been  surprised  had  it  been  submitted  to  on  any  account 
whatever.  But  in  every  other  respect  it  still  appears  to  me 
as  it  did  at  that  time  preferable  to  a  war.  I  will  even  add 
at  present,  that  it  is  in  my  mind  preferable  to  no  agreement 
at  all,  upon  the  principal  subjects  to  which  it  refers.2  But 
when  people  among  us  talk  of  Britain's  being  at  her  last 
gasp,  and  of  her  being  totally  ruined  if  the  United  States 
should  fall  upon  her,  we  can  but  hope  for  the  credit  of  the 

1The  "Whiskey  Insurrection"  of  1794. 

2  Jay  believed  that  this  article,  relating  to  trade  with  the  West  Indies,  broke  the 
ice,  "that  is,  it  breaks  in  upon  the  [English]  navigation  act.  The  least  stream  from 
a  mass  of  water  passing  through  a  bank  will  enlarge  its  passage.  The  very  article 
stipulates  that  the  arrangements  to  succeed  it  shall  have  in  view  the  further  ex 
tension  of  commerce."  Jay  to  Washington,  March  6,  1795.  Correspondence  and 
Public  Papers  of  John  Jay,  IV.  170.  Hamilton  ("Camillus")  considered  that  the 
Senate  wisely  regarded  the  article  as  "less  liberal"  than  could  with  reason  be  ex 
pected.  Works,  V.  161.  Objection  was  made  to  the  proposal  to  prohibit  the 
transportation  in  American  vessels  to  any  foreign  country  except  Great  Britain, 
of  sugar,  cotton,  coffee,  or  molasses.  The  article  was  suspended  by  the  Senate. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  411 

speaker,  that  his  assertion  is  only  unfounded  and  the  result 
of  ignorance. 

The  force  of  Great  Britain  is  so  far  from  being  exhausted, 
that  her  maritime  power  was  never  at  any  period  so  great 
as  it  is  at  present.  Her  naval  superiority  is  everywhere  so 
indisputably  established  that  in  the  Mediterranean,  on  the 
ocean,  in  the  channel,  or  in  the  North  sea,  a  French  or  a 
Dutch  armed  vessel  can  scarce  venture  out  of  an  harbor  with 
out  being  intercepted.  Scarce  a  week  passes  by  without  the 
coasts  of  this  country's  being  insulted  by  her  men  of  war, 
and  in  France  there  is  not  the  smallest  resistance  attempted 
against  the  landing  of  emigrant  expeditions  from  England, 
although  one  considerable  corps  of  them  has  been  exter 
minated  after  their  descent  was  effected.  The  French  frig 
ates  which  during  the  last  season  were  very  successful 
against  their  British  commerce  have  all  been  taken,  or  dare 
not  keep  the  sea,  and  for  several  months  past  there  has  been 
scarce  a  single  capture  made  by  them,  while  all  the  ships  of 
the  Dutch  East  India  Company  are  falling  into  the  hands  of 
their  enemies,  the  helpless  victims  of  the  maritime  impo 
tence  opposed  against  the  British  power.1 

The  state  of  their  finances  is  equally  far  from  being  ex 
hausted,  and  equally  superior  to  those  of  France  or  of  Hol 
land.  A  loan  of  twenty-four  millions  sterling  for  the  present 

1  "This  inability  for  resistance  has  distressing  consequences,  as  it  leaves  the 
commerce  of  this  republic  entirely  defenceless;  its  losses  have  accordingly  been 
very  great,  and  information  has  lately  been  received  of  eight  ships  richly  laden 
belonging  to  the  East  India  Company  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 
This  property  is  not  as  yet  appropriated  to  the  captors  by  right  of  conquest,  but 
is  retained  in  trust  for  such  of  the  Dutch  owners  as  are  not  under  the  influence  of 
the  French.  It  is  not  expected,  however,  that  it  will  ever  be  restored,  and  the  only 
condition  upon  which  there  is  any  such  intention  professed  being  the  reestablish- 
ment  of  the  former  government,  would  be  infinitely  more  adverse  to  the  present 
rulers  than  the  loss  of  ten  times  as  much  property  as  can  be  within  the  reach  of  the 
English."  To  the  Secretary  of  State,  September  14,  1795.  Ms. 


4i2  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

year  does  not  even  diminish  the  price  of  their  funds  a  single 
farthing.1  They  have  kept  up  to  the  present  time,  when 
the  season  is  almost  past,  and  if  twenty-four  millions  more 
should  be  called  for  in  the  course  of  three  or  .four  months, 
they  will  be  found  with  the  same  facility.  This  profusion 
will  be  ruinous  and  destructive  in  its  consequences  I  believe ; 
but  for  the  present  it  gives  them  a  mischievous  strength  with 
which  it  would  not  be  safe  to  contend,  and  the  only  good 
American  policy  is  to  keep  as  much  as  possible  out  of  its 
reach,  to  remain  aloof  while  the  convulsive  energy  is  operat 
ing,  and  to  wait  for  the  inevitable  moment  of  subsequent 
weakness.2 

The  acting  Government  has  likewise  a  power  within  the 
country  which  meets  with  no  control.  The  parliamentary 
opposition  has  scarcely  gained  a  fraction  since  the  beginning 
of  the  war ;  and  although  there  is  a  party  in  London  and  in 
some  other  commercial  towns  restless  and  which  may  be 
come  formidable,  yet  in  general  throughout  the  country  the 
popular  voice  is  unequivocally  favorable  to  the  ministerial 
system. 

On  the  other  hand  I  am  very  doubtful  whether  the  French 
government  would  be  disposed  to  contract  any  engagements 
which  would  bind  them  to  a  common  cause  with  us.  They 
would  give  us  as  many  fair  words  as  we  could  wish,  but 
would  stipulate  nothing  without  a  consideration  more  than 
adequate  to  it.  But  if  they  should  even  tempt  us  by  the 
most  unlimited  obligations  of  inseparable  participation,  the 

1  Annual  Register,  1795,  121. 

2  "I  will  not  be  answerable  that  we  can  much  longer  find  funds,  however  nec 
essary,  for  the  war  on  a  large  scale,  without  serious  ill-humor,  the   tendency  to 
which  is  much  promoted  by  the  very  short  produce  in  Europe  and  America  of  the 
last  year's  harvests,  and  by  the  harshness  of  the  present  summer."     Lord  Auckland 
to  Hugh  Elliot,  July  16,  1795.     Journal  and  Correspondence  of  Lord  Auckland,  III. 
309- 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  413 

present  state  of  their  affairs  is  such  as  can  inspire  but  little 
confidence  in  the  permanency  of  their  cooperation.  They 
continue  still  to  be  victorious  by  land,  and  they  may  perhaps 
make  advantageous  treaties  of  peace  with  all  the  powers  with 
which  they  are  still  at  war,  except  Britain.  But  their  in 
ternal  situation  is  as  unsettled,  the  parties  among  them  are 
as  numerous,  as  violent,  and  as  ready  to  extinguish  one 
another  in  blood  as  they  have  ever  been.  There  is  no  con 
fidence  in  the  new  Constitution  by  any  of  the  parties,  and 
the  popular  opinions  are  so  wide  from  the  present  system  of 
government,  that  the  Convention  appear  to  place  all  their 
dependance  in  the  armies.  The  intention  to  employ  them  to 
the  purpose  of  containing  the  people  is  attributed  to  the 
Convention,  and  has  been  in  some  measure  acknowledged 
by  some  of  the  governing  members.  The  tendency  of  their 
politics  is  towards  a  military  government,  but  it  will  cer 
tainly  not  be  firmly  established  without  numerous  struggles 
and  violent  convulsions.  The  policy  pursued  by  all  the 
European  powers  with  whom  they  are  now  at  peace  is  to 
live  with  them  in  a  simple  state  of  peace,  but  to  form  with 
them  no  engagements  the  validity  of  which  would  depend 
upon  the  permanency  of  the  present  order  of  things.  Their 
future  prospects  exhibit  a  mere  chaos  of  uncertainty,  and 
it  is  not  possible  to  form  a  rational  opinion  whether  they  will 
settle  into  any  quiet  and  peaceable  course  of  government, 
or  whether  they  will  continue  to  float  alternately  between 
anarchy  and  despotism,  as  the  breath  of  their  successive 
factions  shall  impel  them.  One  thing  alone  is  indubitable. 
It  is  that  their  present  state  will  not  be  permanent.  The 
only  safe  connection  that  can  exist  with  them  is  that  which 
would  not  be  liable  to  follow  the  fate  of  their  internal 
revolutions. 

I  inclose  herewith  a  copy  of  their  Constitution  as  it  has 


414  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

been  agreed  to  by  the  Convention,  and  is  now  before  the 
people  and  the  armies  for  acceptance.  It  is  presumed  it 
will  be  adopted.  You  will  observe  that  it  has  exploded  many 
of  the  doctrines  which  but  two  or  three  years  since  were 
articles  of  political  faith,  that  were  not  even  susceptible  of 
discussion.  The  sacred  duty  of  insurrection  has  disappeared, 
the  popular  societies  are  constitutionally  annihilated,  the 
legislature  is  divided.  The  executive  is  invested  with  pomp, 
and  splendor,  and  power,  and  even  the  heresy  of  checks  and 
balances  is  very  near  becoming  an  article  of  orthodox  creed. 
The  Constitution  is  indeed  not  so  absurd  as  the  two  former, 
but  it  will  meet  with  the  same  fate.  In  America  the  great 
difficulty  is  to  unite  the  people  in  the  acceptance  of  a  Con 
stitution,  but  when  once  accepted  it  has  at  least  some  force 
and  operation.  In  France  nothing  is  easier  than  to  procure 
the  adoption  of  a  Constitution,  but  this  adoption  is  the  only 
effect  it  produces. 

The  present  Convention,  however,  in  establishing  this 
Constitution  intend  to  continue  themselves  in  possession 
of  the  legislative  power,  and  the  primary  assemblies  are  com 
manded  to  choose  two-thirds  of  the  members  into  the  first 
legislature.  This  decree  is  said  to  be  extremely  unpopular, 
not  so  much  because  it  is  violating  every  constitutional  prin 
ciple  by  the  first  act  with  which  the  Constitution  is  to  com 
mence,  as  because  there  are  said  not  to  be  two-thirds,  nor  a 
tenth  part,  of  that  number,  among  the  members  of  the  Con 
vention  who  possess  any  of  the  confidence  of  the  people.  It 
is  scarcely  possible  indeed  to  conceal  how  unpopular  the 
Assembly  is  with  all  parties,  and  the  most  conspicuous  mem 
bers  at  this  time  are  not  more  exempt  from  the  public  censure 
than  the  rest.1 

Their  arms  have  not  ceased  to  be  victorious  however,  and 

1  See  Taine,  The  Revolution,  III.  424,  425. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  415 

within  these  few  days  they  have  effected  the  passage  of  the 
Rhine,  which  has  long  been  expected,  and  taken  Diisseldorf. 
They  have  also  recently  concluded  and  ratified  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel.1 

The  state  of  affairs  in  this  country  is  equally  unsettled, 
and  depends  entirely  upon  the  nature  of  the  changes  that 
may  take  place  in  France.  The  great  object  of  solicitude 
here  is  the  formation  of  a  National  Convention;  as  this 
measure  would  by  the  simple  fact  dissolve  the  federal  union 
of  their  old  Constitution,  it  meets  with  great  opposition  in 
some  of  the  provinces.  The  parties  have  grown  warm,  and 
by  mutual  irritation  will  soon  kindle  into  factions.  In  this 
Province  the  antifederal  party  is  almost  unanimous,  and  the 
word  of  federalist  is  rendered  as  odious  as  it  has  been  in 
France,  or  as  the  opposite  word  has  been  in  America. 

The  present  government,  which  has  from  necessity  con 
nected  its  fate  with  the  success  of  the  French,  lives  in  con 
stant  terror  of  Prussia  on  the  one  side,  and  of  Britain  on  the 
other.  They  are  doomed  to  see  their  lot  ascertained  by  the 
progress  of  events  in  which  they  have  no  participation,  and 
to  expect  in  helpless  imbecility  the  issue  which  shall  proscribe 
them  as  culprits,  or  fix  them  in  their  seats  as  the  rulers  of  the 
land.  The  hundred  millions  of  florins  they  are  paying  to 
France  absorb  all  the  supplies  derived  from  the  extreme  re 
sources  to  which  they  have  already  recurred.  They  have 
made  what  they  call  a  junction  of  their  naval  forces,  that  is 
of  the  squadrons  of  the  Texel  and  of  Zeeland  ;  their  news 
papers  say  that  the  whole  number  of  their  armament  thus 
united  amounted  to  upwards  of  twenty  vessels  great  and 
small,  but  I  have  been  assured  that  most  of  them  were  mere 
hulks  that  could  scarcely  keep  above  water,  and  they  have 
long  since  taken  refuge  in  the  Texel  from  the  danger  of  an 

1  William  IX,  who  in  1803  received  the  title  of  "Elector"  William  I. 


4i6  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

English  fleet,1  which  now  cruises  on  the  coast  and  is  frequently 
seen  from  the  shore  at  Schevening  [Scheveningen]. 

A  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  French  Republic 
has  arrived  here  a  few  days  since.2  We  have  hitherto 
visited  only  by  cards,  in  the  style  of  etiquette  still  preserved 
in  their  diplomacy,  so  that  I  have  not  seen  him.  The  corps 
diplomatique  here  is  already  very  much  reduced.  The 
Minister  from  Denmark  is  already  gone,3  those  of  Portugal 
and  Sweden4  will  soon  follow;  they  go  upon  various  pre 
texts,  but  the  real  motive  in  all  probability  is  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  acknowledging  the  Convention  that  is  impend 
ing.  I  shall  then  be  the  only  accredited  Minister  remaining, 
but  I  have  my  instructions  and  shall  therefore  be  at  ease. 

They  have  determined  here  to  recall  Mr.  Van  Berckel, 
who  is  to  be  directed  to  take  leave  in  the  most  friendly  man 
ner,  giving  the  express  assurance  that  his  recall  is  owing 
solely  to  the  intention  of  their  High  Mightinesses  to  send 
another  person  in  his  stead.5  That  other  person  is  a  Mr. 
Van  Polanen,  a  Zeeland  Patriot,  who  is  already  in  America, 
having  some  years  ago  found  a  refuge  there  from  public  op 
pression  and  private  misfortune.  I  have  seen  his  lady  here, 
who  is  much  esteemed ;  he  is  also  as  well  spoken  of  as  the 
virulence  of  parties  will  admit. 

Mr.  Van  Berckel's  recall  I  understand  is  owing  to  his  hav 
ing  dismissed  or  suspended  a  Dutch  consul,  for  rejoicing  at 

1  Commanded   by  Admiral  Adam  Duncan,   afterwards  Viscount  Duncan  of 
Camperdown. 

2  Jean  Francois  Noel  (1755-         ),  who  entered  upon  his  office  September  5. 
Masson  sketches  his  career  and  thus  sums  it  up:  "Noel  est  le  veritable  modele  du 
pion  qui  se  croit  homme  d'Etat."     Le  Departement  des  Affaires  Etrangeres  pendant 
la   Revolution,   163. 

3  Baron  de  Schubart.  4  Comte  de  Lowenhielm. 

5  Pieter  J.  van  Berckel,  who  had  been  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United 
Netherlands  to  the  United  States  since  1783. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  417 

the  emancipation  of  this  country.  At  least  that  is  the 
reason  given.  But  they  have  in  general  recalled  all  their 
ministers  who  were  attached  to  the  former  government. 

Mr.  Van  Lynden,  who  was  Ambassador  at  London,  is 
now  appointed  to  the  Court  of  Denmark. 

Mr.  Dumas  has  finally  obtained  from  the  States  General 
a  resolution  for  erasing  from  their  registers  that  which 
was  formerly  passed  containing  a  censure  upon  him,  and 
the  present  resolution  bears  honorable  testimony  to  his 
patriotism  and  his  irreproachable  conduct.  He  intends  to 
send  you  this  vindication  of  his  integrity  himself.  He  is 
now  ready  to  say  his  nunc  dimittis. 

I  remain  &c. 

TO   CHARLES  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  September  15,  1795. 

You  observe  that  there  are  many  people  who  wish  to  raise 
a  jealousy  between  Mr.  Jay  and  another  public  character 
nearly  connected  with  us.1  It  appears  to  me  very  probable 
that  such  attempts  will  be  made,  and  I  hope  with  you  that 
they  will  prove  abortive ;  but  if  I  have  one  wish  in  my  heart 
more  forcible  than  any  other,  it  is  that  the  occasion  for  which 
you  suppose  the  plan  is  laid  may  never  happen.  Who 
ever  may  be  the  successor  of  the  present  first  magistrate  will 
hold  a  situation  so  uncomfortable  and  so  dangerous,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  its  possession  to  make  it  desirable.  I  am 
so  far  from  looking  on  that  place  as  an  object  worthy  of 
ambition,  that  if  my  unequivocal  wishes  could  decide  the 
point  on  the  supposition  of  the  contingency,  which  we  all 
deprecate,  the  election  would  be  declined  in  the  most  decisive 
and  explicit  manner. 

1  John  Adams. 


2  E 


4i8  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

In  all  ages  of  the  world  and  in  all  countries,  instability  has 
been  the  most  essential  characteristic  of  popular  opinions. 
It  is  so  in  America,  and  will  infallibly  become  so  more  and 
more  in  proportion  as  the  increase  of  population  shall  multi 
ply  the  quantity  of  opinions.  The  revolutions  of  popular 
opinions  are  to  be  considered  as  things  of  course,  though  they 
are  misfortunes  to  the  individuals,  who  are  the  subjects 
of  them.  We  are  however  all  much  alike  in  this  respect, 
and  the  man  who  has  never  been  at  different  periods  stren 
uously  attached  to  opposite  opinions,  would  be  one  of  the 
rarest  phenomena  in  creation.  .  .  . 

October  5.  ...  The  treatment  of  Mr.  Jay  is  certainly  such 
as  does  no  honor  to  the  American  name.  It  appears  to  me 
evident  enough,  that  very  little  of  the  outcry  of  which  the 
treaty  is  made  the  pretence  is  meant  to  bear  against  that 
instrument.  There  is  a  combination  of  personal  envy  of 
the  man,  of  factious  enmity  against  the  government,  and  of 
eternal  foreign  influence  operating  unseen,  all  assuming  the 
mark  of  pure  and  exalted  patriotism,  to  impose  upon  the 
people ;  that  the  mask  should  be  assumed  is  neither  new 
nor  strange ;  but  that  it  should  still  answer  its  purpose 
would  be  surprizing,  if  any  thing  could  surprize.  .  .  .1 

1  "The  opposition  to  the  treaty  appears  to  be  a  concentered  effort  of  anti- 
federal  and  French  influence  working  with  popular  passions,  upon  a  field  unhap 
pily  too  favorable.  You  may  recollect  that  before  the  treaty  was  public,  I  more 
than  once  expressed  to  you  a  doubt  as  to  its  ratification,  though  the  most  obnoxious 
clause  it  contains,  the  one  upon  the  suspension  of  which  the  ratification  is  con 
ditioned,  was  not  then  known  to  me.  The  hope  that  we  shall  ever  have  with  Great 
Britain  a  treaty  such  as  we  should  be  glad  to  have,  is  idle  and  absurd.  The  in 
terests  of  the  two  nations  inevitably  militate  too  much  to  have  such  a  thing  prac 
ticable.  I  am  afraid  we  shall  find  it  but  too  easy  to  get  into  a  war  with  them." 
To  Sylvanus  Bourne,  October  10,  1795,  Ms. 

Four  days  later  (October  14)  he  received  instructions  from  the  Department  of 
State  to  go  to  London.  On  the  I9th  he  presented  his  brother  and  Secretary, 
Thomas  Boylston  Adams,  to  the  Dutch  officials  as  charge  des  affaires  in  his  absence, 
and  prepared  for  his  own  journey. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  419 

TO  DANIEL  SARGENT1 

THE  HAGUE,  October  12,  1795. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  in  their  own  pos 
session  the  choice  between  peace,  with  unparalleled  pros 
perity,  and  war,  with  universal  calamity.  It  gives  me  pain 
to  see  that  there  are  so  many  who  can  be  induced  to  hesitate 
for  such  a  length  of  time  in  making  a  choice.  A  war  indeed 
at  present  with  Great  Britain  must  be  total  destruction  to 
the  commerce  of  our  country  ;  for  there  is  no  maritime  power 
on  earth  that  can  contend  with  the  existing  naval  British 
force.  This  fact  is  so  fully  ascertained,  that  for  these  three 
or  four  months  the  French  and  Dutch  fleets  have  been 
obliged  to  shelter  themselves  in  their  respective  ports,  and 
in  every  part  of  the  European  ocean  their  enemy  has  held 
undisputed  possession.  How  far  an  American  merchant 
under  these  circumstances  can  be  prepared  for  war,  or  willing 
to  support  measures  that  must  lead  to  it,  I  cannot  readily 
conjecture. 

It  is  far  from  my  wish  that  the  proceedings  of  the  British 
government  towards  the  United  States  and  their  citizens 
should  be  forgotten.  If  resentment  were  a  good  or  a  safe 
foundation  for  political  measures,  few  Americans  perhaps 
would  be  disposed  to  go  further  than  I  should.  But  of  all 
the  guides  that  a  nation  can  follow,  passion  is  the  most 
treacherous,  and  prudence  the  most  faithful.  If  our  coun 
trymen  can  be  sufficiently  impressed  with  this  truth,  I  be 
lieve  no  great  length  of  time  will  pass,  before  they  will  see 
our  national  injuries  avenged,  with  a  severity  which  will 
gratify  the  most  inveterate  enmity.  .  .  . 

1  Of  Boston,  born  in  1731,  and  died  in  1806. 


420  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

TO  W.  &  J.  WILLINK  AND  N.  &  J.  VAN 
STAPHORST  &  HUBBARD 

THE  HAGUE,  October  16,  1795. 
GENTLEMEN  : 

In  reply  to  your  favor  of  yesterday  you  will  permit  me  to 
waive  any  further  discussion  relative  to  the  bill  of  Dallard 
and  Swan.  But  while  you  have  the  security  not  only  of  the 
Treasury  order  upon  them,  but  also  the  bill  of  Lubbert  and 
Dumas,  with  yet  another  in  case  of  urgent  necessity,  I  do 
not  consider  the  payment  as  in  the  smallest  degree  pre 
carious. 

Upon  what  grounds  Messrs.  John  and  Francis  Baring  & 
Co.1  assured  Mr.  Hubbard,  that  the  Treasury  did  not  ex 
pect  the  funds  sent  for  you  would  produce  more  than  ninety 
per  cent,  and  that  such  sales  would  be  satisfactory,  I  know 
not.  Such  an  assurance  is  certainly  not  inferable  from  any 
directions  that  either  you  or  I  have  received  from  the  Treas 
ury  Department.  It  is  so  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  me 
under  the  instructions  which  I  have  received,  that  I  should 
now  request  you  in  the  most  earnest  manner  to  give  im 
mediate  orders  for  the  suspension  of  the  sales  upon  such 
terms,  but  for  the  information  in  your  last  letter.  The  loss 
to  the  United  States  on  these  sales  will  be  such  as  in  my 
opinion  can  be  warranted  only  by  a  conviction,  founded  upon 
substantial  reasons,  that  it  would  not  be  disapproved  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

As  the  three  hundred  thousand  florins,  lately  remitted 
you  from  the  Treasury  Department,  were  destined  and 
appropriated  among  other  purposes  for  the  payment  of  the 
Antwerp  interest,  I  believe  that  the  part  of  the  sum 

1  Francis  Baring  (1740-1810)  was  the  founder  of  the  financial  house  of  Barings. 


1795)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  421 

necessary  for  that  operation  cannot  be  applied  to  any  other 
purpose  whatever. 

You  observe,  that  "the  doctrine  laid  down  by  me  relative 
to  the  payment  you  made  of  the  last  Antwerp  interest  es 
tablished  the  propriety  and  justice  of  a  debt  first  due  having 
an  undeniable  right  to  be  discharged  prior  to  one  falling  due 
at  a  later  period." 

This  reference  to  a  former  occasion,  upon  which  I  had  with 
regret  an  opinion  different  from  yours,  makes  it  necessary 
for  me  to  observe  that  your  present  statement  draws  from 
what  I  then  said  an  inference  more  extensive  and  general 
than  I  think  the  expressions  will  support.  I  contended  that 
the  government  of  the  United  States  had  the  right  to  direct 
the  application  of  any  balance  in  the  hands  of  their  agents 
to  such  payments  as  they  thought  proper,  that  the  agents 
had  no  authority  to  divert  a  special  appropriation  to  the 
discharge  of  any  other  demand,  and  that  if  it  should  happen 
that  a  double  appropriation  were  made  of  the  same  sum,  it 
would  then  be  incumbent  on  the  agents  to  make  payments 
according  to  their  orders  as  they  should  be  demanded,  so  long 
as  their  money  lasted. 

To  this  opinion  I  still  adhere;  but  I  think  it  does  not  by 
any  means  involve  any  conclusion  relative  to  the  respective 
merits  of  a  prior  or  a  subsequent  claim  to  the  payment  of  a 
debt  in  general. 

I  could  not  intend  to  advance  an  unqualified  position  that 
a  debt  first  due  has  an  undeniable  right  to  be  first  paid,  be 
cause  I  never  had  an  idea  that  the  principle,  thus  unlimited, 
had  any  foundation.  There  are  a  variety  of  circumstances, 
which  may  give  a  superior  claim  to  the  payment  the  most 
recently  due. 

Of  this  matter  I  consider  the  demand  for  the  payment  of 
interest  at  its  stipulated  periods.  Punctuality  on  this  article 


422  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

is  in  general  a  more  imperious  duty  of  the  debtor,  because 
it  is  more  essential  to  the  convenience,  and  perhaps  to  the 
necessities,  of  the  creditor. 

Your  opinion  in  this  respect  appears  to  be  the  same ;  as, 
although  you  have  not  paid  the  instalment  of  principal  which 
became  payable  last  June,  you  have  paid  considerable  sums 
of  interest,  which  have  since  that  time  become  due. 

When  therefore  the  government  of  the  United  States  have 
made  a  particular  remittance,  with  orders  to  you  that  it 
should  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  certain  interest,  I  do 
not  think  you  have  any  authority  to  refuse  making  that  ap 
plication,  and  to  employ  the  money  for  the  payment  of  an 
instalment  of  principal,  previously  payable,  and  for  the  dis 
charge  of  which  other  ample  funds  were  provided,  though 
unfortunately  they  were  in  stocks. 

I  must  now  request,  gentlemen,  your  final  and  positive 
answer,  whether  you  will  supply  Mr.  De  Wolf  the  sums 
necessary  for  the  punctual  payment  of  the  interest  upon  the 
Antwerp  loan  payable  in  December. 

Whatever  your  decision  may  be,  it  will  doubtless  be  such 
as  you  will  justify  to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

I  am  under  an  inevitable  necessity  of  answering  the  call 
which  Mr.  De  Wolf  has  made  on  me,  but  shall  ;yet  suspend 
my  answer  until  I  receive  yours.  I  am  unwilling  to  write 
him  that  you  chuse  to  make  an  application  variant  from  your 
orders,  of  remittances  lately  made  and  destined  for  him.  I 
am  still  more  unwilling  to  give  him  the  means  of  procuring 
the  supply  elsewhere,  in  a  manner  that  will  be  burdensome  to 
the  United  States ;  and,  indeed,  I  cannot  recur  to  other  re 
sources,  without  being  first  convinced  that  the  supplies  in 
your  hands  will  fail.  But  the  first  of  December  is  rapidly 
approaching,  some  provision  for  the  payment  of  that  day 
must  be  made,  and  as  far  as  the  means  in  my  power  extend, 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  423 

I  am  bound  to  use  them  all,  if  necessary  to  ensure  a  punctual 
discharge  of  interest.  .  .  . l 

I    am    &c. 


MY  DEAR  SIR  : 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

HELVOETSLUYS,2  October  31,  1795. 


The  service  indeed  upon  which  I  am  now  ordered  has 
nothing  to  please  in  prospect.  To  deal  with  a  British  Minis 
ter,  to  deal  with  him  after  Mr.  Jay,  and  with  the  furious 
persecution  that  this  gentleman  has  suffered  for  this  very 
transaction,  fresh  before  my  eyes  and  yet  rumbling  in  my 
ears,  has  nothing  attractive  to  ambition  or  flattering  to 
hope.  On  one  side  the  perspective  is  illiberal  and  captious 
negotiation,  and  probable  failure,  or  such  a  success  as  will 
not  be  much  better;  on  the  other  is  virulent  reproach  and 
abuse  to  extend  as  usual  to  my  nearest  friends,  and  lavished 
more  on  them  than  on  me.  That  both  these  things  will  be 
combined  for  my  endurance  in  the  course  of  the  business  is 

1  He  left  the  Hague  October  21,  reached  Rotterdam  the  same  day,  and  on  the 
22d  went  to  Helvoetsluys.  See  Memoirs,  October,  1795.  "The  only  remedy  against 
moral  as  well  as  physical  evil  must  very  often  be  patience.  At  the  obstinacy  of 
the  winds,  which  continued  all  this  day,  I  have  fretted  not  more  than  usual.  I  have, 
indeed,  taken  to  myself  some  little  consolation  of  vanity,  from  the  idea  that  I  have 
borne  the  vexation  with  philosophy  more  than  common  to  me;  and  since  I  find  that 
all  the  anxiety  with  which  my  eyes  have  involuntarily  turned  with  constant  itera 
tion  to  all  the  vanes  and  weathercocks  in  sight  has  been  merely  gratuitous;  that 
the  kindness  of  a  weathercock  would  have  given  me  no  relief,  and  that  all  the  stores 
of  Lapland  magic  would  have  been  useless  in  my  hands,  I  have  been  rather  fortified 
than  weakened  in  my  resignation,  and  have  only  pitied  those  who  can  prevail  upon 
themselves  to  practise  impositions  without  necessity."  To  Thomas  B.  Adams, 
October  27,  1795.  Ms. 

'"Put  up  at  Bridge's,  an  English  house,  and  tolerably  good."  Ms.  Diary. 
But  see  the  Memoirs,  October  28,  1795. 


424  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

highly  probable.  One  or  the  other  of  them  is  inevitable,  for 
the  existence  of  the  first  in  its  utmost  extent  will  be  the  only 
possible  protection  against  the  certainty  of  the  second. 

These  anticipations  do  not,  however,  in  themselves  form 
my  principal  concern.  I  know  that  success  is  seldom  at 
human  disposal,  and  that  censure,  if  unmerited,  is  an  evil 
not  intolerable.  It  is  not  therefore  the  responsibility  of  this 
agency  that  I  dread,  but  it  is  the  magnitude  of  the  trust,  and 
my  own  incompetency ;  the  first  being  only  my  personal  con 
cern,  but  the  last  involving  the  most  important  interests,  and 
the  welfare  of  my  country. 

It  is  possible  that  the  result  of  my  present  mission  may 
ascertain  the  termination  of  my  residence  in  Europe,  in 
dependent  of  any  act  of  my  own  will,  or  perhaps  it  will  serve 
to  give  a  direction  to  it.  Your  recommendation  to  me  to 
return  to  America  at  the  close  of  a  three  years'  absence,  un 
less  removed  to  a  different  scene  and  raised  to  an  higher 
trust,  will  have,  as  all  advice  from  you  will  always  have,  great 
weight  in  my  mind.  But  I  must  assure  you  in  the  most  un 
equivocal  manner  that  I  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  wish  for  a 
more  elevated  rank  than  that  in  which  I  am  now  placed,  and 
that,  of  the  only  two  American  missions  in  Europe  where  the 
higher  character  is  employed,  I  consider  the  English  as  an 
object  of  aversion  and  the  French  of  indifference. 

As  there  is  no  present  prospect  of  vacancy  in  either  of 
those  places,  it  will  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  give  you  the 
numerous  reasons  upon  which  my  sentiments  concerning 
them  are  formed.  A  dislike  both  of  the  government  and 
national  character,  perhaps  amounting  even  to  a  prejudice, 
is  the  principal  ground  of  the  first,  and  the  unsettled  revolu 
tionary  state  of  the  country  is  at  least  a  counterbalance  to 
any  predilection  I  might  otherwise  entertain  in  favor  of  the 
other. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  425 

Besides  these  considerations,  if  I  had  not  collected  a  suffi 
cient  portion  of  the  "Stoic  spirit"  to  dull  the  edge  of  my  am 
bition,  if  the  vanity  of  rank  or  the  parade  of  representation 
had  in  my  eyes  such  charms  as  could  overpower  my  philos 
ophy,  I  should  at  least  teach  my  desires  a  subordination 
to  the  sentiments  of  justice,  at  least  command  them  to  com 
pare  the  merits  of  their  claims  with  those  of  others  and  be 
silent.  If  diplomatic  promotion  in  this  course  of  duty  be  an 
advantage  or  a  reward,  and  the  occasion  should  occur  for 
bestowing  it,  the  United  States,  besides  all  their  deserving 
citizens  at  home,  have  other  servants  in  Europe  in  the  same 
station  with  me,  older  in  years,  more  versed  in  public  affairs, 
entitled  by  long  and  faithful  service  to  the  notice  of  public 
recompense,  and  without  a  delirium  of  extravagance  could  I 
expect  advancement  while  they  remain  stationary  ?  With 
out  an  arrogance  of  equal  injustice  and  absurdity  could  I 
wish  it  ? 

The  situation  at  The  Hague,  therefore,  insignificant  as  it 
is,  satisfies  me  with  an  employment  which,  without  being 
tedious  or  painful,  is  adequate  to  my  talents,  and  leaves  me 
leisure  to  pursue  any  course  of  studies  that  may  be  recom 
mended  by  its  amusement  or  utility.  Indeed,  Sir,  it  is  a 
situation  in  itself  much  preferable  to  that  of  eternal  expecta 
tion  in  a  lawyer's  office  for  business  which,  when  it  comes,  is 
scarcely  sufficient  to  give  bread,  and  procures  one  more  curses 
than  thanks.  I  may  be  reduced  once  more  to  the  necessity 
of  going  through  that  trial,  but  as  long  as  any  other  honest 
resource  is  left  me,  the  remembrance  of  that  probation  will 
suffice  me,  and  I  shall  not  be  willing  to  go  through  it 
again.  .  .  . 


426  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

TO   CHARLES  ADAMS 

HELVOETSLUYS,  November  4,  1795. 

The  state  of  this  country  is  in  general  tolerably  quiet  and 
peaceable,  excepting  every  now  and  then  a  little  irregular 
usurpation  of  sovereignty  by  clubs  and  popular  assemblages  ; 
hitherto  they  have  not  been  followed  by  any  tragical  event. 
The  dissolution  of  the  confederation,  and  the  consolidation 
of  all  the  provinces  into  a  sing'e  republic,  by  the  convo 
cation  of  a  National  Assembly,  has  been  for  many  months  an 
object  of  great  solicitude,  more  especially  because  a  differ 
ence  of  opinion  has  arisen  in  the  different  provinces,  upon  the 
propriety  of  the  proposed  alteration.  The  province  of  Hol 
land  almost  unanimously,  and  the  popular  societies  and 
clubs  in  all  the  others,  have  pursued  very  tenaciously  the 
point  upon  which  they  think  the  permanency  of  their  revo 
lution  will  turn ;  but  the  majority  of  the  people  in  most  of 
the  smaller  provinces,  are  strenuously  averse  to  the  change, 
and  adhere  tenaciously  to  their  federal  system.  The  parties 
have  at  length  proceeded  so  far,  that  the  provincial  assembly 
of  Holland  has  taken  a  formal  resolution,  that  in  case  the 
other  provinces  do  not  unanimously  agree  to  call  the  Na 
tional  Assembly  by  the  25th  of  this  month,  this  province 
will  take  the  step  alone,  or  together  with  those  that  will 
agree  to  join  it,  without  waiting  any  longer  for  the  assent 
of  the  remaining  members. 

I  have  been  amused  but  not  surprized,  to  observe  with 
what  zeal  the  most  ardent  patriots  here  connect  in  argu 
ment,  provincial  sovereignty  and  aristocracy,  after  having  seen 
so  many  patriots  no  less  ardent  in  America,  labouring  with 
the  same  industry,  to  make  the  essence  of  Republicanism 
consist  in  State  Sovereignty.  I  knew  before  this  that  the 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  427 

arguments  of  a   party  are  generally  urged  more  for  their 
operation  than  for  their  weight.  .  .  . 


(Private.) 
SIR  : 


TO  TIMOTHY  PICKERING1 

LONDON,  November  15,  1795. 


I  have  to  thank  you  for  your  favor  of  September  10, 
which  Mr.  Deas  delivered  to  me  on  my  arrival  here.  The 
letter  of  Mr.  Randolph,  dated  July  2i,2  had  indeed  been  to 
me  a  subject  of  equal  pain  and  surprise.  Combined  with 
the  numerous  accounts  of  irregular  popular  proceedings  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  with  a  prejudice 
discoverable  in  the  minds  of  almost  all  the  Americans  I  met 
who  had  recently  come  from  the  United  States,  it  induced 
an  unpleasant  anticipation  of  the  consequences  that  awaited 
the  United  States  from  the  designs  of  some,  and  the  un 
guarded  hastiness  of  others,  among  their  citizens. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  observe  from  your  letter,  that  the 
proceedings  of  the  popular  meetings  on  the  subject  of  the 

1  Adams  landed  at  Margate  November  10,  and  reached  London  the  next  day, 
only  to  find  that  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  the  treaty  had  been  performed  by 
William  Allen  Deas.     It  remained  for  him  to  await  further  instructions  from  the 
State  Department  upon  the  twelfth  article  of  the  treaty  and  upon  certain  points  not 
dealt  with  in  that  document.     These  instructions,   sketched   by   Randolph,  were 
suppressed  by  Pickering,  his  successor  in  office,  as  having  been  formed  "under  the 
impression  of  ideas   quite   foreign  to  an  immediate  ratification   of  that   treaty." 
The  subject  was  not  resumed  until  too  late  for  Adams  to  be  the  agent. 

2  Printed  in  American  State  Papfrs,  Foreign  Relations,  I.  719.     "The  complexion 
of  his  whole  letter  shows  that  these  popular  meetings  were  not  displeasing  to  him; 
and  combined  with  various  facts,  which  I  cannot  now  detail,  indicating   studied 
delays,  to  give  him  for  extending  the  opposition,  satisfies  me  that  his  true-object 
was  to  defeat  the  treaty  altogether."      Pickering  to  Adams,  September  10,  1795. 
Ms. 


428  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

treaty  are  in  every  respect  less  important,  than  from  many 
circumstances  I  had  been  apprehensive.  That  the  hasty 
rashness  of  the  meetings  was  the  result  of  a  concerted  plan, 
and  that  every  artifice  had  been  employed  to  take  the  people 
by  surprise,  and  to  use  them  as  instruments  for  a  purpose, 
the  success  of  which  would  eventually  prove  their  irreparable 
misfortune,  I  can  readily  believe,  as  I  had  long  suspected 
that  such  would  be  the  case  before  it  happened  ;  but  that 
the  Secretary  of  State  should  be  accessary  to  such  a  ma 
noeuvre  is  what  I  could  not  have  believed  from  any  opinion 
less  respectable  than  yours,  and  of  which  I  would  still  fain 
hope  he  was  innocent. 

The  occasion  of  his  resignation  you  have  mentioned, 
however,  as  originating  in  a  different  source.  But  notwith 
standing  the  force  of  your  expression,  that  he  had  forfeited 
the  confidence  of  the  President,  the  story  which  is  not  much 
of  a  secret  here  must  be  loaded  with  great  exaggerations,  if 
not  with  absolute  falsehood. 

The  intelligence  of  the  pacifications  with  the  Indian  tribes 
and  of  the  general  prosperity  enjoyed  throughout  the  United 
States,  while  it  accounts  in  some  measure  for  the  violence 
and  the  arts  used  to  defeat  the  system  to  which  the  peace 
and  prosperity  can  alone  be  attributed,  is,  I  would  hope,  a 
sure  token  that  all  the  endeavors  to  delude  the  people  into  a 
sacrifice  of  their  own  welfare  will  prove  as  unsuccessful  as 
they  have  hitherto  been. 

The  system  of  policy  pursued  by  the  President  since  the 
commencement  of  the  present  European  war  has  been  en 
countered  by  so  many  difficulties  and  embarrassments, 
which  the  wisdom  of  his  government  has  removed  and  over 
come,  that  I  feel  encouraged  in  the  hope  that  it  will  be 
successfully  pursued  to  the  end.  The  war  in  all  probability 
approaches  towards  its  termination.  Another  campaign  is 


i79sl  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  429 

barely  possible.  More  than  one  I  cannot  under  the  present 
state  of  affairs  anticipate,  and  the  scale  of  probability  as  it 
appears  to  me  inclines  towards  a  general  peace,  or  at 
least  a  cessation  of  hostilities  before  the  close  of  the  year 
ensuing.  .  .  . 

The  situation  of  this  country  one  would  imagine  not  much 
less  critical  than  that  of  France  and  of  the  United  Provinces. 
The  scarcity  of  grain  and  flour  is  so  considerable  that  it  has 
been  among  the  first  subjects  of  deliberation  to  the  Parlia 
ment  now  assembled,  to  take  measures  for  preventing  an 
absolute  famine.  Riots  have  recently  taken  place  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  Kingdom  owing  to  the  price  of  provisions, 
of  bread  especially,  and  those  who  have  been  so  anxiously 
desirous  of  trying  the  experiment  of  a  famine  abroad  may 
perhaps  witness  its  effects  without  going  from  home. 

This  circumstance  has  naturally  given  a  vigor  to  the  dis 
contented  party,  and  has  much  increased  the  fermentation 
that  was  before  operating  in  silence  among  the  lower  ranks 
of  people  particularly  in  the  capital.  Numerous  popular 
meetings  have  been  held,  and  their  orators  have  declaimed 
in  that  kind  of  style  which  produces  the  effect  against  which 
the  laws  were  intended  to  guard,  without  infringing  the  laws 
themselves.  On  the  first  day  of  the  present  session  of  Parlia 
ment  the  King  was  personally  insulted,  the  glass  of  his  coach 
was  broken  by  a  stone,  and  it  is  the  fashion  here  to  say,  that 
his  life  was  aimed  at. 

This  was  probably  not  the  case.  In  the  present  state  of 
things  the  life  of  the  king  can  be  no  object  to  the  party  hos 
tile  to  the  government.  An  assassination  would  do  them 
great  injury,  and  could  be  of  no  possible  advantage.  But  to 
prove  that  he  may  be  insulted  with  impunity  is,  doubtless, 
a  point  of  consequence  to  those  who  found  their  hopes  of  a 
Revolution  on  the  degradation  of  the  royal  character. 


430  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

Whatever  the  fact  or  the  intention  really  was,  it  has  been 
the  occasion  of  two  bills  introduced  by  the  Ministers  now 
pending,  one  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  other  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  Their  professed  objects  are  the  security 
of  the  King's  person  and  the  prevention  of  seditious  meetings 
and  assemblies  ;  but  their  operation  must  be  to  abridge  very 
materially  the  right  of  political  discussion,  and  the  public 
voice  in  the  capital  is  strongly  decided  against  them.  In 
my  next  letter  I  shall  give  a  further  account  of  the  proceed 
ings  on  this  subject,  which  becomes  interesting  from  the  un 
common  degree  of  the  public  attention  it  has  excited,  and 
in  the  interval  remain,  with  perfect  respect,  Sir,  etc.1 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  November  17,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

After  a  detention  of  twenty  days  at  Helvoetsluys,  and  a 
pleasant  passage  of  twenty-four  hours  from  thence  to  Mar 
gate,  I  arrived  here  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  instant.  The 
state  of  the  business  on  which  I  came  will  be  known  to  you 
before  the  receipt  of  this  letter. 

An  English  paper  that  I  saw  at  Rotterdam  on  the  day  of 
my  departure  from  the  Hague  gave  me  the  first  information 
of  Mr.  Randolph's  resignation.  On  my  arrival  here  I  found 
a  story  of  its  supposed  occasion,  for  which  I  fear  there  is  too 
much  foundation,  though  I  think  it  must  have  received  high 
aggravations  from  those  who  make  little  scruple  of  divulg 
ing  it.  At  present  I  can  only  suspend  my  judgment  upon 
the  degree  of  misconduct  chargeable  on  him,  and  still  hope 
that  he  was  never  influenced  by  motives  more  criminal  than 
those  of  a  misguided  party  spirit.  I  shall  reserve  for  a 

1  See  Adams,  Memoirs,  December  I,  1795;   Annual  Register,  1796,  17. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  431 

future  letter  some  observations  relative  to  the  means  of  in 
fluence  used  by  a  foreign  power  in  the  United  States,  and 
confine  myself  in  this  to  such  observations  as  have  occurred 
to  me  on  the  state  of  affairs  in  those  parts  of  Europe  the  most 
interesting  to  our  country. 

The  new  French  legislature  assumed  its  functions  on  the 
27th  of  last  month.1  No  account  of  any  very  important 
transaction  by  them  has  yet  reached  this  country.  The 
members  of  the  Executive  directory  are  Larevelliere-Le- 
peaux,2  Letourneur,3  Rewbell,4  Barras  5  and  Carnot.6  The 
last  was  chosen  to  replace  Sieyes,  who  was  in  the  first  ap 
pointment  by  a  small  majority  and  declined. 

Carnot  was  a  member  of  Robespierre's  Committee  of 
Public  Safety,  and  I  think  the  only  one  remaining  alive  who 
has  not  been  under  arrest  by  order  of  the  Convention,  a  fate 
which  he  very  narrowly  escaped  not  more  than  four  months 
ago.  He  was  then  spared  as  was  said  on  account  of  his 
military  merit,  as  the  design  of  the  campaign  which  ter 
minated  in  the  conquest  of  the  Netherlands  is  attributed  to 
him. 

1  The  elections  in  France  under  the  new  constitution  had  been  held  October  20. 
As  two-thirds  of  the  new  Corps  Legislatif  were  to  be  taken  from  the  members  of  the 
old  Convention,  four  hundred  and  ninety-three  members  should  have  been  thus 
elected.     In  fact,  only  three  hundred  and  eighty-nine  were  returned,  leaving  one 
hundred  and  four  to  be  chosen  by  the  elected  members  from  the  Convention,  who 
selected  sympathizers  with  their  own  policy.     This  expedient  retained  in  power 
a   majority  of  the  old   Convention,  and   resulted   in  less  than   two  years    in   the 
overthrow  of  the   Republic.     The   five   Directors   were   chosen   from  this  party, 
and  the  council  of  the  Ancients  from  the  members  of  the  Corps  Legislatif.     For 
the  characters    and    powers    of   the    Directory,    see    Cambridge    Modern    History, 
VIII.  490. 

2  Louis-Marie  de  la  Revellicrc-Lepaux  (1753-1824). 

3  Charlcs-Louis-Francois-Honore  Letourneur  (1751-1817). 

4  Jean-Francois  Rewbell  (1747-1807). 

5  Paul-Francois-Jean-Nicolas,  vicomte  de  Barras  (1755-1829). 
8  Lazare-Nicolas-Marguerite  Carnot  (1753-1823). 


432  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

The  fluctuation  of  fortunes  and  reputations  is  equally 
remarkable  in  the  choice  of  the  other  members,  and  even  in 
the  consideration  of  persons  who  were  not  chosen. 

Boissy  d'Anglas,1  Cambaceres,2  Lanjuinais,3  Henry  Lari- 
viere,4  the  demi-gods  of  the  month  of  June,  are  out  of  the 
question.  The  reason  is  that  they  were  not  forward  in  support 
of  the  decree  of  reelection  which  produced  the  late  convulsion, 
and  the  most  recent  services  are  the  only  ones  remembered. 

If  the  tone  of  the  Directory  can  be  anticipated  by  any 
consideration  of  the  character  of  its  members,  it  will  not  be 
remarkable  for  stability  or  harmony.  The  only  man  whose 
personal  character  can  give  him  any  pretensions  to  power, 
the  only  one  whose  conduct  has  a  system  for  its  basis,  Sieves, 
refused  the  seat  that  was  offered  him.  It  was  a  place  he  said 
which  required  that  its  holder  should  possess  the  general 
confidence,  and  no  man  could  be  more  unfit  for  it  than  him, 
against  whom  all  parties  without  exception  since  the  be 
ginning  of  the  Revolution  had  pointed  as  a  mark. 

Did  Sieyes  imagine  that  any  other  man  in  France  pos 
sessed  the  general  confidence,  or  ever  could  possess  it  more 
than  three  months  together  ?  No,  for  independent  of  his 
experience  it  is  not  understanding  or  sagacity  that  are  his 
deficiencies.  Could  he  be  serious  when  he  represented  him 
self  as  having  been  the  special  mark  of  all  the  successive 
factions  ?  —  he  ?  —  Sieyes  ?  —  the  only  man  of  note  whom 
every  successive  faction  has  spared.  The  only  man  extant, 
who  from  the  day  when  the  first  Constituent  Assembly  met 
to  the  present,  has  been  openly  or  unseen  concerned  in  the 
most  important  affairs.  The  man  whose  mere  existence  at 

1  Francois-Antoine  Boissy  d'Anglas  (1756-1826). 

2  Jean-Joseph-Regis  Cambaceres  (1753-1824). 

3  Jean-Denis  Lanjuinais  (1753-1827). 

4  Pierre-Franfois-Joachim-Henri  de  Lariviere  (1761-1838). 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  433 

this  day  is  a  standing  miracle,  and  amounts  to  proof  that 
there  are  no  universalities  in  nature,  and  that  everything 
has  an  exception  ?  No,  no.  He  certainly  knew  better. 

But  he  was  determined  to  refuse,  and  some  reason  he  must 
give.  This  was  a  very  good  one  to  profess,  it  contained  an 
eulogium  of  himself  without  offending  others.  It  had  a 
natural  tendency  to  increase  his  influence  with  those  who 
believed  his  assertion,  if  any  such  there  were  ;  and  as  to  those 
who  did  not  believe  him,  it  may  be  supposed  they  were  very 
indifferent  whether  he  spoke  the  truth  or  not. 

From  my  arresting  your  attention  so  long  and  repeatedly 
upon  the  motions  of  this  one  man,  I  hope  you  will  not  think 
I  give  him  an  importance  that  he  does  not  deserve.  To 
speak  my  mind  freely,  I  consider  him  as  the  main  spring  of 
the  French  external  policy.1  I  believe,  further,  that  his  policy 
as  respects  the  United  States  is  of  a  tendency  as  pernicious 
to  them,  as  if  it  had  been  invented  in  the  councils  of  the 
Prince  of  Darkness. 

In  the  present  instance  he  avoids  a  station  of  show  as  he 
has  always  uniformly  done;  he  remains  in  the  Council  of 
five  hundred,  and  will  be  satisfied  with  having  the  great  por 
tion  of  executive  management  really  in  his  hands.  He  is  so 
much  of  a  metaphysician  that  he  values  the  substance  more 
than  the  appearance  of  power,  and  he  secures  to  himself  the 
advantage  of  protection  from  the  most  imminent  hazards 
that  may  attend  new  Revolutions. 

The  new  Legislature  did  not  assemble  under  the  fairest 
auspices  that  could  be  wished.  A  civil  war  in  the  heart  of 
Paris  but  a  few  days  before  stifled  in  blood,2  a  paper  currency 

1  The  Directors  appointed,  November  3,  Charles  Delacroix  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs;  but  Rewbell  exercised  an  important  influence  in  that  Department. 

2  See  Monroe's  despatches  of  October  20,  and  November  18,  1795,  in  Writings  of 
James  Monroe,  II.  379,  415- 

2  F 


434  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

depreciated  to  the  lowest  extreme  of  sufferance,  an  expense 
of  more  than  an  hundred  daily  millions  to  support,  and  de 
feat,  a  word  of  which  they  had  almost  lost  the  use,  attending 
their  armies.  Internal  discord  can  scarcely  be  mentioned 
as  one  of  their  distresses,  because  it  has  become  their  ordinary 
state,  and  its  evils  have  lost  their  horror  in  their  frequency ; 
but  dissension  with  their  new  allies  may  be  added  to  the  list 
of  the  embarrassments  under  which  they  have  yet  the  courage 
to  retain  a  compulsive  hold  of  the  public  helm. 

I  remain  &c. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
[TIMOTHY  PICKERING,  ACTING] 

LONDON,  December  5,  1795. 

I  saw  yesterday  Lord  Grenville  at  his  office,  and  had  a 
lengthy  conversation  with  him  upon  subjects  connected  with 
the  object  of  my  mission  here,  and  upon  those  concerning 
which  your  instructions  had  previously  been  executed  by 
Mr.  Deas. 

I  found  Sir  William  Scott,1  the  Advocate  General,  with 
him.  The  point  first  discussed  was  that  concerning  the  cases 
proposed  to  be  settled  by  compromise.  This  matter  being, 
however,  still  unsettled  I  shall  reserve  for  a  separate  letter 
an  account  of  whatever  relates  to  it. 

The  Advocate  General  having  withdrawn,  the  compen 
sation  to  the  Commissioners  was  mentioned,  and  I  told  his 
Lordship  that  upon  further  reflection  I  had  been  confirmed 
in  the  opinion  that  my  authority  from  the  American  govern- 

1  Afterwards  Lord  Stowell  (1745-1836). 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  435 

ment  would  not  permit  me  to  make  any  discrimination  in 
the  pay  of  the  several  members  of  the  same  Commission. 
That  wishing,  however,  to  be  candid  with  him,  I  should 
acknowledge  that  my  instructions  allowed  me  to  agree  to  the 
sum  of  £150x3  to  the  Commissioners  for  the  debts  and  for 
the  spoliations,  and  £1000  for  those  who  are  to  determine  the 
river  St.  Croix ;  and  that  rather  than  incur  the  delay  neces 
sary  for  taking  the  opinion  of  the  American  government,  I 
should  consent  to  those  sums,  though,  at  the  same  time,  I 
must  repeat  that  smaller  sums  would  be  preferred  by  them. 
He  said  that  the  principal  object  with  him  for  thinking  £1500 
necessary  was,  that  he  might  propose  it  to  the  persons  whom 
he  had  in  his  mind  to  send  to  America,  and  who  would  not 
go  for  less.  That  if  I  pleased,  therefore,  the  agreement 
might  be  as  he  had  before  proposed  to  me,  reserving  to  the 
American  government  the  right  to  change  it,  if  they  thought 
proper,  so  far  as  to  make  the  pay  for  all  the  same.  I  said 
once  more  that  I  had  no  authority  to  admit  for  a  moment  the 
idea  of  discrimination,  but  that  as  the  reason  he  had  men 
tioned  for  making  it  appeared  weighty  to  my  own  mind,  if 
he  pleased  the  agreement  should  be  such  that  the  largest 
sums  mentioned  should  be  allowed  to  all  the  Commissioners 
alike,  reserving  to  the  American  government  the  right  to 
reduce,  if  they  think  proper,  to  £1000  the  pay  of  those  Com 
missioners  who  shall  be  in  both  instances  not  obliged  to 
go  beyond  sea  for  the  performance  of  their  service.  To 
this  he  agreed,  requesting  me  until  the  determination  of  the 
American  government  be  known  not  to  mention  the  cir 
cumstance  here,  because  he  did  not  wish  the  future  Com 
missioners  here  should  be  led  to  expect  so  much  as  £1500.  I 
told  him  I  should  certainly  be  silent  on  the  subject,  and 
mentioned  the  propriety  of  having  something  written  upon 
the  agreement.  He  said  he  would  in  the  course  of  a  few 


436  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

days  write  me  a  note  mentioning  the  agreement  as  it  has  been 
made  in  our  conversation. 

I  then  observed  there  was  a  subject  concerning  which  I 
had  no  instructions,  nor  indeed  any  communications,  from 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  but  concerning  which 
I  had  reason  to  believe  the  sensations  in  America  were  so 
strong  that  I  felt  myself  bound  in  duty  to  suggest  them,  as 
indeed  I  had  been  required  to  do  by  the  agent  of  American 
claims,1  who  had  received  the  sentiments  of  our  govern 
ment  on  the  subject.  That  I  understood  there  were  several 
cases  now  pending  before  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  Ap 
peals  which  involved  in  their  decision  certain  points  of  na 
tional  concern,  upon  which  I  should  be  happy  to  have  some 
conversation  with  him,  and  that  a  decision  had  taken  place 
during  the  course  of  the  last  summer  which  I  believed,  when 
made  known  in  America,  had  occasioned  disappointment 
and  chagrin:  that  the  ground  upon  which  I  had  understood 
the  condemnation  had  taken  place,  was  the  transient  resi 
dence  of  one  of  the  parties  in  the  island  of  Guadeloupe;  that 
there  were  indeed  other  incidental  points,  which  I  had  been, 
however,  informed  had  been  given  up  or  not  insisted  on  upon 
the  appeal,  but  that  on  the  facts  of  the  case  as  they  were 
known  to  the  American  government,  there  was  no  legal  prin 
ciple  upon  which  they  conceived  that  property  liable  to  con 
demnation  ;  that  upon  the  occasion  of  the  trial  of  that  case, 
one  point  had  arisen,  upon  which,  if  I  was  rightly  informed, 
one  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  had  observed  that  some 
understanding  between  the  two  countries  might  be  advis 
able,  and  that  my  own  wish  to  prevent  the  irritation  that 
must  be  occasioned  by  decisions  so  unfavorable  to  the  inter- 

1  Samuel  Bayard  (1767-1840)  was,  on  the  suggestion  of  Jay,  sent  to  England 
in  1794  to  represent  the  claims  of  American  citizens  before  the  prize  courts  in  that 
country.  His  reports  are  in  the  Department  of  State. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  437 

ests,  and  so  adverse  to  the  opinions  of  my  country,  induced 
me  to  desire  every  possible  occasion  to  discuss  the  points 
upon  which  a  difference  of  opinion  between  the  two  nations 
might  subsist.  He  said  that  he  would  cheerfully  enter  upon 
any  such  discussion ;  that  the  government  of  this  country 
never  interfered  in  judicial  proceedings  to  influence  the  de 
cisions  ;  but  that  there  might  be  agreements  upon  such  or 
such  principle  of  the  laws  of  nations,  which  agreements 
would  be  considered  as  rules  to  guide  the  decrees. 

Several  of  these  points  upon  which  interesting  questions 
now  depend  were  mentioned,  but  not  much  dwelt  upon.  I 
thought  it  sufficient  at  this  time  to  introduce  the  subject, 
which  may  be  a  very  extensive  one,  and  which  is  totally  dis 
connected  with  any  instructions  that  I  have  hitherto  re 
ceived. 

I  then  came  to  points  upon  which  I  had  been  honored 
with  your  orders  and  said  that  the  instructions  of  the  Ameri 
can  government  relative  to  the  further  matters  which  I 
should  submit  to  his  consideration,  having  been  executed 
already  by  Mr.  Deas,  it  was  perhaps  less  necessary  for  me  to 
enter  largely  upon  the  business  than  it  might  otherwise 
have  been  ;  but  that  as  these  concerns  had  now  devolved 
upon  me,  I  thought  it  essential  to  the  discharge  of  my  duty 
to  notice  what  had  been  specially  recommended  to  my  at 
tention.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  had  been 
informed  of  numerous  captures  having  been  made,  during 
the  course  of  the  last  summer,  of  American  vessels  laden 
with  provisions,  in  consequence  of  an  order  said  to  have  been 
issued  under  his  Majesty's  authority,  and  I  was  directed  to 
inquire  into  the  existence  of  such  an  order.  He  said  that  he 
would  direct  Mr.  Hammond  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  days 
to  send  me  a  copy  of  that  order ;  that  a  copy  of  it  had  been 
sent,  to  be  communicated  to  the  American  government  in 


438  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

America  with  suitable  explanations,  but  that  the  manner 
in  which  Mr.  Deas  had  thought  proper  to  execute  his  in 
structions  was  such  that  he  (Lord  Grenville)  chose  to  have 
no  communication  with  him  on  the  subject.  He  then  added 
that  the  treaty  admitted  by  implication  that  there  are  cases 
in  which  provisions  and  other  articles  not  generally  contra 
band  may  become  so,  and  stipulated  that  until  the  two  coun 
tries  should  agree  on  this  subject  their  respective  conduct 
towards  each  other  shall  be  regulated  by  the  existing  law  of 
nations  ;  that  he  believed  there  was  not  a  single  writer  upon 
the  law  of  nations  who  did  not  lay  down  the  principle  that 
provisions  may  become  contraband,  and  that  the  known 
passage  of  Vattel,  a  modern  and  judicious  writer,  who  upon 
the  subject  of  national  law  had  taken  the  indulgent  side,  and 
might  be  considered  as  a  protestant  of  political  doctrines, 
expressly  stated  that  provisions  may  be  liable  to  capture 
with  indemnity,  when  the  distress  of  the  enemy  is  such  for 
want  of  them  that  it  becomes  a  mean  of  reducing  them,  or 
of  procuring  an  advantageous  peace ;  that,  besides,  it  is 
equally  clear  that  vessels  may  be  detained  upon  suspicion 
of  their  having  on  board  property  belonging  to  the  enemy  of 
the  captor,  by  the  treaty  and  by  the  existing  law  of  nations. 
Now,  the  order  only  directs  a  capture  when  both  the  circum 
stances  concur;  that  is,  when  the  vessels  are  laden  with 
provisions,  and  when  there  is  any  suspicion  of  enemy's  prop 
erty.  It  does  not,  therefore,  go  to  the  extent  that  it  might 
without  any  violation  of  right.1 

"With  respect  to  the  treaty  (said  I)  my  instructions  ex 
pressly  command  me  to  say  that  its  ratification  must  not  be 
construed  into  an  admission  of  the  legality  of  this  order.  As 
to  the  principle  stated  by  your  Lordship  as  being  laid  down 
by  Vattel,  it  could  not  be  applicable  in  the  present  case,  even 

*On  provisions  as  contraband,  see  Moore,  Digest  of  International  Law,  VII.  675. 


i79sl  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  439 

if  admitted,  unless  there  were  also  an  admission  of  fact. 
That  is,  that  his  Majesty's  enemies  were  so  distressed  for 
want  of  provisions,  that  they  were  susceptible  of  being  re 
duced  by  the  capture  of  neutral  vessels  carrying  provisions 
to  them.  This  point  I  do  not  wish  to  discuss  with  you.  As 
to  the  suspicion  of  having  enemy's  property  on  board,  even 
supposing  that  could  justify  detention,  it  could  justify  noth 
ing  more,  and  in  this  case  there  is  much  more.  There  is 
taking  property  from  its  owners  against  their  will,  and 
giving  them  a  supposed  indemnity  equally  without  their 
will."  "But,"  said  he,  "it  is  customary  in  the  Courts  of 
Admiralty,  whenever  articles  perishable  in  their  nature  must 
be  endangered  by  the  detention  necessary  until  the  deter 
mination  of  the  cause  for  which  they  were  taken,  to  sell  the 
articles  under  a  decree  of  the  Court,  and  pay  the  proceeds 
to  the  party."  "Even  that,"  said  I,  "differs  essentially 
from  taking  a  man's  property,  and  paying  him  according  to 
your  own  estimation.  A  sale  is  attended  with  competition, 
and,  where  an  article  is  in  demand,  will  produce  a  price." 
"I  believe,"  said  he,  "it  is  very  well  understood  that  the 
payments  for  the  provisions  that  have  been  brought  in  were 
more  advantageous  to  the  merchants  than  a  sale  would  have 
been."  I  thought  it  unnecessary  to  urge  this  point  any 
further.  The  answer  to  the  last  observation  is  very  obvious, 
but  it  had  run  wide  from  the  position  of  a  right  to  detain 
on  suspicion,  or  any  consequences  deducible  from  it. 

As  the  principle  of  this  order  (I  resumed)  is  not  admitted 
by  the  American  government,  considerations  of  its  peculiar 
inconvenience  to  the  United  States  and  their  citizens  form  but 
a  secondary  ground  of  objection.  Provisions  are  among  the 
most  valuable  articles  of  our  export  trade.  They  are  indeed 
more  valuable,  proportionally  speaking,  to  us  than  to  any 
other  commercial  nation  ;  a  restraint  therefore  upon  the  free- 


440  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

dom  of  this  trade  by  external  power  has  a  more  extensive 
operation  upon  our  interests  than  upon  those  of  any  others, 
and  it  has  the  appearance  of  being  specially  pointed  against 
us.  For  however  general  the  expressions  in  which  the  order 
is  couched  may  be,  as  comprehending  all  neutral  nations,  yet 
if,  in  the  nature  of  things  it  can  operate  only  against  one,  it 
must  be  understood  to  have  had  an  application  only  to  that 
nation.  Besides  this,  if  my  information  be  accurate,  the 
same  rate  of  indemnity  has  in  the  cases  of  the  late  captures 
been  allowed  to  the  neutral  proprietors  of  all  the  several 
nations.  Now  the  same  per  centum  upon  a  cargo  coming 
from  Hamburg  might  afford  a  very  handsome  profit,  and 
coming  from  Philadelphia  would  give  scarce  any  at  all ;  as 
in  estimating  the  rate  of  profits  upon  any  given  capital,  the 
time  during  which  it  is  employed  forms  an  essential  ingre 
dient.  A  vessel  from  Hamburg  to  France  might  perform  ten 
or  a  dozen  voyages  to  and  fro  in  the  course  of  a  year.  From 
America  the  average  could  not  amount  to  more  than  two. 
The  same  rule,  therefore,  produces  very  different  effects 
upon  circumstances  which  nature  has  made  so  different. 
These  observations  are  made  not  as  admitting  that  any 
indemnity  whatever  could  obtain  our  assent  to  the  legality 
of  captures,  but  in  order  to  show  the  character  of  the  order 
itself,  by  the  partial  and  unequal  effects  that  it  necessarily 
produces. 

He  said  that  it  would  be  shown  by  the  accounts  of  the 
sums  paid  or  to  be  paid  by  this  government  for  these  pro 
visions,  that  the  American  vessels  brought  in  amounted  to 
quite  a  small  proportion  of  the  whole ;  that  the  order  had  in 
fact  operated  much  more  upon  the  nations  up  the  Baltic 
than  upon  the  United  States,  and  that  it  was  really  intended 
that  it  should ;  that  he  would  direct  that  the  amount  of  the 
accounts  should  be  shown  me ;  and  as  to  the  rates  of  in- 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  441 

demnity,  he  appeared  in  some  measures  to  admit  the  reason 
of  the  observation  I  had  made,  but  said  that  it  was  qualified 
by  the  circumstance  of  the  great  difference  in  the  freights. 
The  next  particular  of  your  instructions  to  which  I  ad 
verted,  was  the  stipulation  in  the  second  article  of  the  treaty, 
for  the  delivery  of  the  posts,  and  the  previous  measures 
provided  to  be  taken  to  effect  the  evacuation.  I  told  him  I 
was  ordered  to  urge  for  the  immediate  performance  of  that 
engagement.  He  said  that  the  orders  had  been  made  for 
the  purpose,  and  he  believed  they  had  been  sent  out.  "But," 
said  he,  "it  cannot  be  surprising  if,  upon  seeing  in  what 
manner  the  treaty  has  been  received  in  America,  and  the 
opposition  which  it  has  met  and  still  meets  there,  we  should 
think  it  necessary  to  be  upon  our  guard.  If,  upon  the  meet 
ing  of  Congress,  a  difficulty  should  be  raised  and  prevail 
against  passing  the  laws  which  may  be  necessary  to  give 
effect  to  certain  articles  of  the  treaty,  it  cannot  be  expected 
that  we  should  be  willing  to  perform  on  our  side  without 
performance  on  the  other."  I  then  replied  that  I  could  not 
undertake  to  say  before  hand  what  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  in  any  instance  would  think  proper  to  do. 
But  I  had  not  the  smallest  doubt  and  I  believed  this  govern 
ment  had  no  reason  to  doubt,  but  that  the  United  States 
would  faithfully  perform  all  their  engagements.  That  with 
respect  to  the  opposition  advanced  against  the  treaty,  its 
appearance  I  had  reason  to  believe  from  good  authority, 
was  more  formidable  than  its  reality ;  that  it  was  the  nature 
of  opposition  to  any  public  measure  in  that  country  to  be 
bold,  open,  public,  industrious,  and  active;  that  it  was  even 
more  so  there  than  elsewhere,  and  arose  from  the  principle 
of  liberty,  upon  which  the  government  was  founded  ;  that, 
upon  an  occasion  of  such  universal  interest  as  that  treaty, 
opposition  was  very  natural,  and  its  ordinary  character 


442  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

might  derive  from  the  importance  of  the  subject  an  unusual 
degree  of  apparent  energy,  and  it  would  show  itself  in  its 
utmost  extent,  which  was  further  magnified  by  a  view  of  it 
at  this  distance.  He  said  he  could  readily  believe  it,  and  that 
the  force  of  the  observation  upon  the  character  of  opposi 
tion  would  be  understood  and  acknowledged  with  peculiar 
conviction  by  Englishmen. 

I  then  added,  "I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  en 
gagements  of  the  American  government  will  be  punctually 
discharged,  and  I  hope  most  sincerely  that  if  on  either  side 
of  the  water  there  are  persons  really  desirous  to  revive  the 
causes  of  former  differences,  or  to  generate  occasions  for 
new  ones,  persons  who  wish  to  accumulate  irritations,  which 
the  interest  of  both  nations  would  entirely  remove,  and  to 
instigate  a  failure  on  their  own  side  as  a  provocation  to  the 
other,  their  views  may  be  entirely  frustrated."  He  then 
repeated  that  "  he  believed  the  orders  for  the  evacuation  of 
the  posts  had  been  sent  out." 

After  saying  thus  much  upon  the  matters  relating  to  the 
treaty,  I  observed  that  there  were  two  new  aggressions,  on 
the  part  of  officers  in  his  Majesty's  service,  which  it  was  my 
duty  to  recall  to  his  lordship's  recollection.  A  memorial 
on  the  subject  had  been  presented  by  Mr.  Deas,  and  he 
had  sent  the  documents  by  which  the  facts  were  substan 
tiated.  It  remained  only  for  me  to  repeat  the  demand  of 
reparation  for  what  was  considered  by  the  American  govern 
ment  as  an  outrageous  violation  of  their  territorial  juris 
diction,  and  as  being  highly  aggravated  by  an  attack  upon 
a  foreign  minister  entitled  to  all  the  protection  which  the 
laws  of  nations  could  give  to  such  a  character.  That  the 
instance  was  indeed  of  such  a  complexion  that  the  President 
had  thought  proper  to  revoke  the  exequatur  of  Mr.  Moore, 
his  Majesty's  Vice  Consul  at  Rhode  Island,  who  appeared 


1795)  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  443 

to  have  cooperated  in  the  offense  to  such  a  degree  as  made 
it  proper  for  the  American  government  to  do  itself  justice 
as  far  as  concerned  him.1 

He  said  that  immediately  upon  receiving  information  of 
the  charge  against  Captain  Home,  an  order  had  been  issued 
by  the  Lords  of  Admiralty  to  him  for  the  purpose  of  hearing 
what  he  should  have  to  say  in  his  justification  ;  that  he  could 
assure  me  no  officer  in  his  Majesty's  service  would  ever  be 
countenanced  in  such  acts  as  the  violation  of  a  friendly 
nation's  territorial  rights,  aggravated  by  an  injury  to  the 
privileged  character  of  a  foreign  minister.  He  mentioned 
this  the  rather,  because,  although  no  representations  on  the 
affair  had  yet  been  received  from  Captain  Home  himself, 
he  had  reason  to  suppose,  from  other  statements  which  he 
had  seen,  that  the  violation  of  territory  would  be  denied  by 
the  captain,  who  would  maintain  that  the  transaction  took 
place  at  such  a  distance  from  the  American  coast  as  took  it 
altogether  out  of  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States.  I  told  him  that  the  determination  of  this  govern 
ment,  or  the  evidence  upon  which  they  might  found  it,  was 
not  a  subject  for  my  consideration.  I  should  only  remark, 
from  a  personal  knowledge  of  the  place  where  the  event 
occurred,  and  of  the  points  from  and  to  which  the  packet 
was  going,  that  the  pretence  that  the  fact  happened  upon  the 
high  seas  out  of  our  jurisdiction,  if  raised,  would,  in  my 
opinion,  be  disproved  by  the  simple  local  relation  of  the 
places. 

"With  respect  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Moore  (said  Lord  Gren- 
villc)  that  is  a  little  different.  An  express  stipulation  of 
the  treaty  gives  each  of  the  two  governments  the  right  of 
dismissing  the  consuls  of  the  other  for  such  reasons  as  itself 

1  This  refers  to  the  search  of  the  Peggy  by  boats  from  the  British  ship  of  war 
Africa,  for  the  departing  French  minister  Fauchet  and  his  papers. 


444  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

thinks  proper.  Whether  the  reason  be  good  or  bad,  it  is 
the  mere  exercise  of  a  right  reserved,  upon  which  the  other 
government  has  nothing  to  say.  So  that  the  President,  if 
he  pleased,  might  dismiss  a  man  because  he  took  a  dislike  to  his 
face,  and  we  should  have  no  right  to  object  against  it.  I 
have,  therefore,  taken  his  Majesty's  pleasure  for  appoint 
ing  a  person  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Moore,  and  it  is  a  matter 
upon  which  no  question  can  arise.  But  if,  to  go  any  further, 
my  opinion  is  asked  in  this  case,  I  can  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  I  think  Mr.  Moore  has  been  a  little  hastily  dealt 
with.  That  the  mere  circumstance  of  his  sending  a  letter 
from  Captain  Home  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  1  did 
not  merit  such  pointed  severity.  For,  however  offensive 
the  letter  might  be,  he  sent  it  at  the  express  requisition  of 
Captain  Home,  which  he  could  not  refuse,  Captain  Home 
being  in  his  Majesty's  service  an  officer  so  vastly  superior  in 
rank  to  himself."  "My  orders  were,"  said  I,  "to  explain 
the  reasons  upon  which  this  act  of  the  President  was 
grounded,  and  to  observe  that  it  was  not  only  because  Mr. 
Moore  sent  the  insulting  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode 
Island,  but  because  his  presence  on  board  the  Africa,  at  the 
time  when  the  other  outrage  was  committed,  gave  strong 
ground  for  suspicion  that  he  was  accessary  to  that.  These 
reasons  were  deemed  sufficient  by  the  President.  He  trusts 
they  will  be  so  by  this  government ;  and  you  may  be  assured 
that  no  trivial  cause,  nor  any  such  reason  as  the  President's 
taking  a  dislike  to  a  man's  face,  would  induce  him  to  the 
removal  of  any  one."  "No,  no,  (said  he)  I  was  not  speak 
ing  officially,  and  only  meant,  in  giving  you  my  opinion,  to 
put  an  extreme  case  to  show  my  idea  of  the  principle." 

Respecting  the  other  case,   the   same  orders   have  been 
issued  from  the  Admiralty,  to  the  captain  of  the  Hermione, 

1  Arthur  Fenner  (1745-1805). 


i795l  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  445 

in  order  to  know  what  he  can  say  for  his  justification.  "I 
am  directed  on  this  occasion,"  said  I,  "to  urge  that  more 
pointed  orders  may  be  given,  to  prevent  the  repetition  of 
this  evil.  It  is  a  great  evil,  and  is  continually  recurring. 
I  may  add  that  it  is  of  a  nature  extremely  calculated  to 
produce  irritation  and  resentment.  It  couples  insult  with 
injury  in  a  manner  which  naturally  makes  not  only  the  suf 
ferers,  but  numbers  of  their  fellow  citizens,  think  it  intol 
erable.  The  government  of  the  United  States,  for  these 
reasons,  wish  that  some  equitable  agreement  on  the  subject 
may  put  an  end  to  complaints  to  which  they  cannot  be  in 
attentive." 

He  said  they  were  very  willing  to  make  such  an  agreement 
as  might  result  from  a  fair  and  candid  discussion  of  the  sub 
ject.  That  he  had  already  had,  when  Mr.  Jay  was  here, 
much  conversation  with  him  upon  it,  and  that  it  was  then 
understood  to  be  one  of  the  points  reserved  for  future  con 
sideration.  The  question  involved  in  it  was  on  both  sides 
difficult.  For  instance,  if  a  sailor  belonging  to  one  of  the 
king's  ships  stationed  on  the  American  coast,  should  desert 
and  run  away  from  his  ship,  it  could  not  be  supposed  that  he 
thereby  changed  his  allegiance  or  acquired  a  right  to  the 
protection  of  the  United  States  as  an  American  citizen.  On 
the  other  hand,  all  those  who,  before  the  war,  were  inhabit 
ants  of  America,  and  had  continued  to  be  so,  wherever 
born,  were  doubtless  to  be  considered  as  American  citizens 
and  entitled  to  protection.  That  between  these  two  ex 
treme  points  there  was  a  great  variety  of  gradations,  and  it 
must  be  a  delicate  thing  on  both  sides  to  fix  the  line  of  de 
marcation  ;  that  in  the  particular  instance  of  the  settlers, 
etc.,  within  the  posts  to  be  evacuated,  the  treaty  had  as 
certained  the  proceedings  whereby  every  individual  might 
make  and  declare  his  election,  and  he  should  cheerfully 


446  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

attend  to  any  observations  that  might  occur  to  me  on  the 
view  of  the  subject  as  a  general  question. 

Before  I  proceed  to  a  few  remarks  which  I  shall  take  the 
liberty  to  submit,  suggested  by  this  conversation,  I  have  to 
notice  a  proposal  of  Lord  Grenville's  respecting  the  two 
important  Commissions,  and  which  escaped  my  recollec 
tion,  when  I  gave  in  the  beginning  of  this  letter  an  account 
of  the  agreement  as  to  the  pay  of  the  Commissioners.  He 
said  that  the  treaty  stipulated  nothing  as  to  the  appointment 
of  the  secretaries  to  these  Commissions.  He  supposed  it 
would  not  be  thought  necessary  to  have  more  than  one 
secretary  for  each  of  them,  and  it  would  be  perhaps  eligible 
that  the  person  should  not  be  obliged  to  go  beyond  sea. 
His  offer  therefore  was  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Commission 
to  sit  at  Philadelphia  [be  appointed]  by  the  American  govern 
ment,  at  the  same  time  reserving  to  the  Commissioners  in 
both  instances  the  right  of  objecting  to  the  appointment  of 
any  person  who  might  be  not  agreeable  to  them.  I  answered 
that  having  no  communication  from  the  government  of  the 
United  States  on  this  head,  I  could  not  say  what  their  opin 
ions  would  be ;  whether  this  arrangement  would  meet  their 
ideas  or  whether  they  would  prefer  having  the  secretaries 
appointed  as  of  course  by  the  Commissioners  themselves, 
but  that  I  would  transmit  the  suggestion  he  now  made  for 
their  consideration. 

In  the  relation  that  is  now  before  you,  Sir,  it  has  been 
endeavored  to  give  you  the  substance  of  everything  that 
was  said  on  either  side,  and  a  verbal  accuracy  has  been  pre 
served  as  far  as  it  could  be  retained  in  memory. 

The  proposal  for  discriminating  between  the  Commis 
sioners  in  the  article  of  compensation  left  me  only  the  al 
ternative  of  consenting  to  the  highest  sums  or  creating  a 
further  delay  of  four  or  five  months.  It  was  doubtless  made 


I795J  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  447 

with  that  intention,  and  affords  a  specimen  of  the  style  of 
negotiation  which  it  may  be  expected  will  be  pursued.  That 
delay,  at  least  as  to  the  performance  of  their  engagements, 
is  a  real  object  which  this  government  have  in  view,  may  be 
collected  from  various  concurring  circumstances.  As  to 
the  evacuation  of  the  posts,  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
intention  of  making  that  depend  upon  what  shall  be  done 
be  Congress  at  their  meeting  respecting  the  treaty  was 
clearly  avowed,  and  although  a  belief  was  professed  that  the 
orders  were  already  sent  out,  yet  it  is  evident  from  the  whole 
that  was  said  on  that  head,  taken  together,  either  that  no 
such  orders  have  been  sent,  or  that  they  are  made  condi 
tional,  to  be  executed  or  not  according  to  circumstances. 
This  belief  of  the  principal  Secretary  of  State,  upon  such  a 
point  as  the  present,  is  itself  a  ground  of  suspicion  that  his 
creed  is  not  in  this  respect  entirely  conformable  to  his  knowl 
edge.  Mr.  Deas  was  at  first  expressly  told  that  the  orders 
were  sent  out.  I  was  told  the  same  thing  by  Mr.  Hammond 
the  first  time  of  my  seeing  him  here ;  and  now  my  Lord 
Grenville  only  believes  them  gone. 

The  attempt  at  argument  in  support  of  the  order  for  tak 
ing  vessels  laden  with  provisions  will  be  appreciated  by  the 
President  at  its  proper  value.  It  was  such  as  made  it  un 
necessary  to  contest  the  principles ;  a  mere  denial  of  their 
application  sufficed.  The  indifference  and  readiness  with 
which  such  reasons  are  advanced  may  serve  to  show  the 
degree  of  stress  which  is  laid  upon  the  reason  of  their  conduct, 
and  what  proportion  it  bears  to  their  conviction  that  it 
must  in  truth  rest  upon  their  sense  of  power.  This  order  has 
been  revoked,  and  will  not  be  revived  so  long  as  the  costs 
of  their  captures  will  evidently  amount  higher  than  their 
value  to  the  captors.  This  circumstance  supplied  the  prin 
cipal  or  only  motive  for  its  removal ;  and  when  it  shall  no 


448  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [i795 

longer  exist,  the  expectation  that  any  consideration  of  jus 
tice,  humanity,  or  neutral  rights  will  prevent  its  revival  for 
so  much  as  an  hour,  would  be  as  little  warranted  by  present 
probability  as  by  past  experience. 

In  the  case  of  Captain  Home's  violence  and  outrage,  it 
seems  that  a  pretence  for  bearing  him  out  is  assumed  al 
ready,  before  any  species  of  defence  has  been  received  from 
himself ;  and  as  to  that  of  Mr.  Moore,  the  words  underscored 
in  the  above  relation  were  expressly  used.  The  disposition 
of  mind  which  they  discover  shall  remain  without  comment 
from  me,  and  I  shall  only  permit  myself  to  add,  that  by 
repeating  distinctly  some  of  those  words,  it  was  meant  to 
show  that  they  had  not  passed  unnoticed,  and  that  by  saying 
no  further,  sensations  were  suppressed  which,  if  indulged, 
would  have  retorted  scorn  for  scorn. 

That  Mr.  Moore  had  thought  himself  bound  in  duty  to 
send  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island  copy  of  a  letter 
he  had  received,  insolent  and  insulting  to  the  Governor, 
because  the  writer  of  the  letter  had  requested  him  so  to  do,  had 
indeed  been  advanced  by  Mr.  Moore  himself ;  but  the  reason 
assigned  by  Lord  Grenville,  as  proving  that  such  was  his 
duty,  belongs  entirely  to  him.  It  is  that  Captain  Home  was 
superior  in  rank  to  the  Vice  Consul :  a  reason  to  justify 
vicarious  insolence,  which,  however,  consonant  to  the  prac 
tice  of  this  country,  will  be  considered  as  more  than  disput 
able  in  the  United  States. 

In  this  conversation  it  will  perhaps  appear  that  the  ob 
jection  against  Mr.  Deas  for  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
expressed  the  sentiments  of  the  American  government  did 
not  come  with  much  weight  from  a  person  using  such  lan 
guage  on  his  side.  Mr.  Deas  is  doubtless  equal  to  his  own 
justification,  and  if  the  language  of  his  memorial  was  warm, 
it  was  such  as  the  occasion  naturally  suggested. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  449 

With  respect  to  the  pressing  of  seamen,  it  will  be  observed 
in  the  newspapers  that  notice  issued  yesterday  from  the 
Admiralty  office,  that  directions  have  been  given  not  to  press 
any  more  men  regularly  protected.  Whether  these  direc 
tions  will  meet  with  proper  execution,  time  alone  will 
unfold. 

I  am  in  hopes  of  Mr.  Pinckney's  return  within  a  few  days  ; 
by  Christmas  at  latest.  I  expect  it  with  anxiety,  being 
ardently  desirous  to  resign  into  his  hands  a  task  to  which  I 
must  take  the  liberty  of  observing  that  I  am  altogether  in 
adequate  ;  and  a  trust  the  extensive  importance  of  which 
could  not  be  fully  perceived  at  the  time  when  my  orders  to 
repair  hither  were  transmitted.  From  the  foregoing  account 
an  opinion  may  be  formed  how  far  the  relative  situation  of 
the  United  States  and  this  country  is  still  critical ;  and  it 
would  not  become  me  to  suggest  what  measures  the  interests 
and  the  security  of  the  former  may  render  advisable.  That 
the  disposition  here  is  candid,  harmonious,  or  sincere  may  be 
believed,  if  the  amplest  professions  are  to  be  admitted  for 
substantial  proof. 

I  have  the  honor  &c. 

TO   LORD  GRENVILLE 

LONDON,  December  9,  1795. 
MY  LORD  : 

I  have  received  the  card  which  your  Lordship  did  me  the 
honor  to  write  me  yesterday;  but  observing  that  it  is  di 
rected  to  me  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the  United 
States  of  America,  I  think  it  necessary  to  inform  your  Lord 
ship,  that  I  am  not  honored  with  that  character,  and  that 
the  credential  letter,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  bear  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  his  Majesty,  styles  me 

2  G 


450  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America,  at  the 
Hague. 

If  this  circumstance,  according  to  the  customary  usages 
of  this  court,  be  such  as  to  preclude  me  from  the  honor  of  an 
audience  to  deliver  my  credential  letter  to  his  Majesty,  I 
must  request  of  your  Lordship  that  it  may  be  notified  to 
me,  as  I  cannot  by  any  acquiescence  or  assent  on  my  part 
admit  that  I  am  vested  with  the  character  of  a  Minister 
Plenipotentiary.1 

I  have  the  honor  &c. 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
[TIMOTHY  PICKERING] 

LONDON,  December  15,  1795. 


SIR: 


I  now  resume  the  subject  of  the  intention  that  the  Minis 
try  perhaps  entertained  of  considering  me  as  a  Minister  to 
this  court.  And  several  circumstances  that  occurred  both 
before  and  after  the  levee  convinced  me  that  such  an  in 
tention  still  existed.2  The  next  day  a  paragraph  appeared 
in  one  of  the  ministerial  papers,  stating  that  Mr.  Adams,  the 
new  envoy  from  the  United  States  of  America,  had  delivered 
his  credentials,  etc. 

I  had  reason  to  expect  that  a  similar  paragraph  would 
appear  in  the  next  Gazette,  and  though  I  could  not  be  re- 

1  See  Adams,  Memoirs,  December  9,  1795.     "When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Adams  (un 
derstanding  that  he  was  empowered  to  negotiate  with  this  country  during  Mr. 
Pinckney's  absence)  I  offered  him  any  assistance  which  I  could  give;   but,  to  my 
great  surprise,  he  told  me  that  he  was  here  merely  as  a  private  individual.     A  day 
or  two  afterwards,  Lord  Grenville  gave  me  very  different  information."    Gouverneur 
Morris  to  Washington,  December  19,  1795. 

2  See  Adams,  Memoirs,  December  n,  1795. 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  451 

sponsible  for  their  acts  or  pretensions,  I  did  not  mean  they 
should  ever  have  a  pretence  to  make  a  point  of  the  thing  on 
the  ground  of  a  misapprehension.  I  went  therefore  to  Mr. 
Hammond,  and  clearly  stated  to  him,  that  I  am  not  to  be 
considered  as  a  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  this  court, 
observing  that  from  the  first  moment  of  my  arrival  to  the 
present  I  had  expressed  myself  in  the  most  explicit  manner 
on  this  point,  both  to  Lord  Grenville  and  to  himself.  The 
paragraph  has,  of  course,  not  yet  appeared  in  the  Gazette. 
It  had,  however,  already  been  sent  for  insertion,  stating 
that  I  had  delivered  credentials  as  Minister  Resident  of 
the  United  States.  Mr.  Hammond,  on  my  conversing  with 
him,  endeavored  to  frame  the  paragraph  in  a  different  man 
ner  so  as  to  meet  my  ideas  ;  but  I  did  not  think  proper  to 
take  on  me  any  responsibility  whatever  by  approbation  of 
a  thing  over  which  I  have  no  control.  I  told  him  that  I  was 
answerable  for  my  conduct  as  it  concerns  my  own  country; 
but  could  not  be  so  for  any  insertion  in  the  Gazettes  made  by 
authority  of  this  government. 

In  consequence  of  this  discussion,  Mr.  Hammond  found  it 
necessary,  or  thought  proper  at  length,  to  say  that,  "to  be 
sure  my  credential  letter  was  completely  informal"  To  this 
I  made  no  answer,  but  his  idea  of  its  informality  I  take  to 
arise  from  their  maxim  that  the  King  of  Great  Britain  will 
not  admit  a  foreigner  in  the  character  of  a  Minister  to  another 
government  than  his  own.  To  the  accuracy  of  this  principle, 
I  must  confess,  I  see  no  reasonable  objection,  and  on  that 
account  I  had  not  on  my  arrival  any  idea  of  a  formal  audi 
ence.  When  it  was  intimated  to  me  by  Lord  Grenville  that 
this  would  be  necessary  in  point  of  form,  I  acquiesced,  be 
cause  I  conceived  that  on  the  article  of  forms  here  it  was  not 
my  business  to  contend  with  them,  and  if  they  chose  to  over 
leap  or  evade  the  principle  above  mentioned,  it  was  at  their 


452  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

own  peril,  and  not  a  concern  of  mine.  The  principle  that 
if  a  Prince  does  admit  a  foreign  Minister,  it  can  only  be  in  the 
character  attributed  to  him  in  his  credentials,  was  a  full 
security  to  us,  as  I  concluded,  against  any  inference  of  sub 
stance  that  they  might  wish  to  draw  from  a  mere  ceremonial 
parade. 

It  has,  therefore,  now  become  certain  that,  by  their  custom 
ary  forms,  my  audience  was  not  only  unnecessary  but  in 
admissible.  Mr.  Hammond  suggested  to  me  that  the  ob 
jection  had  not  been  made  because  it  had  escaped  their 
notice,  and  observed  that  in  the  multiplicity  of  their  business 
it  was  impossible  they  should  attend  to  everything.  The 
observation  may  be  true ;  but  can  the  oversight  be  credited 
after  my  notice  given  to  Lord  Grenville  that  I  had  no  com 
mission  to  this  court,  and  after  the  very  explicit  declaration 
contained  in  my  letter  to  him,  the  copy  of  which  is  inclosed. 

It  seems  much  more  probable  that  it  was  an  express  design 
of  Mr.  Hammond  himself  by  means  of  this  audience  to  con 
strue  me  into  a  Minister  to  this  court.  And  this  design  ap 
pears  to  have  been  so  important  in  his  mind,  that  to  effect 
its  execution  he  did  not  hesitate  to  return  me  in  Lord  Gren- 
ville's  name  such  an  answer  as  that,  the  copy  of  which  is  in 
closed. 

Negotiation  in  the  system  of  these  people  seems  to  con 
sist  only  in  the  art  of  reducing  to  a  dilemma.  One  instance 
has  been  given  in  a  former  letter.  In  the  present  case,  I 
was  placed,  not  unskilfully,  in  that  of  declining  a  custom 
ary  form.  I  chose  to  deliver  my  letter,  taking  care  to 
show  them  distinctly  that  I  meant  to  keep  the  form  separate 
from  any  false  inference  they  might  choose  to  draw  from  it. 

But  although  I  have  endeavored  with  all  the  caution  of 
which  I  was  capable  to  avoid  a  snare,  if  it  was  laid,  I  am  not 
yet  without  concern  lest  some  use  may  be  designed  to  be 


I795J  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  453 

made  of  my  conduct,  of  which  I  am  not  aware.  Time  alone 
can  discover  what  Mr.  Hammond's  motive  could  be  for  such 
a  manoeuvre  as  this.  That  he  had  a  motive,  and  a  strong 
one,  cannot  well  be  doubted,  for  such  a  practice  could  not  be 
recommended  by  the  mere  pleasure  of  employing  it. 

After  reflecting  in  the  most  serious  manner  upon  it,  I  can 
only  conjecture  that  the  object  is  to  procure  a  certain  pre 
text  upon  a  future  occasion.  I  trust,  however,  that  if  it 
should  be  attempted  to  be  raised,  it  will  be  found  necessary 
to  abandon  it ;  and,  indeed,  had  not  my  opinion  been  such,  I 
should  have  peremptorily  refused  to  deliver  my  credential 
letter,  even  at  the  risk  of  what  was  brought  so  pointedly 
before  me.  Whether  my  conjecture  be  well  founded  or  not, 
a  short  time  will,  I  hope,  ascertain,  and  the  result  will  of 
course  be  made  known  to  you. 

I  have  the  honor  &c. 


TO   SYLVANUS   BOURNE 

LONDON,  December  16,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

The  President  has  not  resigned,  but  there  appears  to  be  a 
most  violent  attack  carried  on  against  him,  the  object  of 
which  is  probably  to  induce  his  resignation,  or  his  removal 
at  the  next  election.  In  this  country  the  same  people  who 
derived  so  much  pleasure  from  the  Western  Insurrection  of 
the  last  year,  take  an  equal  satisfaction  in  this  circumstance. 
They  seem  to  anticipate  with  delight  the  fall  of  a  man,  who 
has  hitherto  been  the  boast  of  Republicans.  Time  will 
show,  whether  in  this  instance,  as  in  the  former,  these  exult- 
ers  have  not  purchased  the  skin  before  the  chase  was  killed. 

But  Mr.  Randolph  has  resigned,  and  as  to  the  origin  of 
his  resignation  there  are,  as  usual,  two  stories.  His  friends 


454  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

say  that  it  was  only  certain  indiscreet  communications  be 
tween  him  and  the  French  Minister  Fauchet,1  and  they  very 
much  blame  the  President  for  having  made  an  eclat  of  a 
thing,  which  they  think  ought  to  have  been  overlooked  or 
arranged  without  noise. 

They  further  threaten  very  hard,  that  Mr.  Randolph,  to 
vindicate  himself,  will  divulge  some  dreadful  secrets  as  to 
the  English  party  among  us,  and  if  there  be  such  secrets  I 
hope  he  will.  It  is  time  that  the  people  of  America  should 
know  who  are  their  true  friends,  and  who  only  the  tools  of 
foreign  powers. 

The  matter  is  yet  unsettled,  but  is  in  every  respect  a  thing 
to  be  regretted.  But  it  gives  great  pleasure  to  our  (not 
friends)  in  England.  .  .  . 


TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
[TIMOTHY  PICKERING] 

LONDON,  December  19,  1795. 
SIR  : 

I  return  to  the  conversation  of  which  it  was  my  purpose 
to  give  you  the  relation.2  The  first  point  started  was  that 
of  alienage,  residence,  and  domicility,  which  recurs  in  various 
forms  in  many  of  the  cases  now  in  the  courts.  Lord  Gren- 
ville  said  that  a  statement  was  preparing  taking  up  the  sub 
ject  in  all  its  different  points  of  view,  which  might  lead  to  a 
settlement  of  the  principles  on  which  an  agreement  may  be 
made,  in  which  case  a  retrospective  operation  may  be  given 
to  it  so  far  as  will  be  practicable,  to  guide  the  decisions  in  the 
causes  now  pending  that  involve  the  question ;  and  he  said 

1  Jean-Antoine- Joseph  Fauchet  (1761-1834). 

2  Adams  had  met  Lord  Grenville  on  the  i6th. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  455 

he  would  send  me  this  statement  in  the  course  of  a  few  days 
for  consideration. 

The  questions  relative  to  the  trade  in  American  vessels 
with  the  French  West  India  Islands,  and  from  them  to  France 
and  to  other  parts  of  Europe,  were  then  noticed.  He  said 
that  the  Lords  of  Appeal  had  been  and  were  still  sincerely 
desirous  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  establishing  any  new  prin 
ciples  of  decision  that  might  bear  the  appearance  of  harsh 
ness  towards  neutral  trade ;  but  had  uniformly  endeavored 
to  govern  their  decrees  conformably  to  rules  practised  upon 
in  the  course  of  former  wars.  That  a  trade  opened  by  an 
enemy  in  favor  of  neutral  navigation,  flagrante  bello,  and 
contrary  to  the  permanent  system  pursued  by  that  enemy 
in  time  of  peace,  had,  therefore,  been  viewed  as  inadmissible ; 
as  a  mere  evasion  for  the  purpose  of  giving  protection  to 
hostile  property,  and  so  far  as  the  principle  of  former  de 
cisions  on  this  head  would  apply  to  the  present  cases,  the 
Lords  Commissioners  would  probably  be  governed  by  them. 
He  then  mentioned  the  case  of  the  Dutch  ships  that  occurred 
in  the  year  1758,  and  said  he  had  a  report  concerning  them 
made  by  persons  of  the  highest  judicial  authority  in  this 
country,  namely  the  late  Lord  Mansfield,  Sir  Dudley  Ryder 
and  Doctor  Charles  Hay.1 

I  observed  that  not  having  seen  that  report,  I  had  not  an 
opportunity  to  remark  upon  the  doctrines  it  might  contain; 
but  with  respect  to  the  case  of  the  Dutch  ships,  admitting 
in  the  first  place  that  it  was  parallel  to  that  of  our  trade  on 
the  present  occasion,  the  Americans  might  inquire,  whether 
that  nation  were  satisfied  with  the  determinations  in  the 
Admiralty  Courts  of  this  country,  and  cheerfully  acquiesced 
in  the  principles  upon  which  the  proceedings  here  were 

1  The  "rule  of  the  War  of  1756."  See  Moore,  Digest  of  International  Law,  VII. 
383. 


456  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [i795 

founded.  That  if  the  fact  was  otherwise,  and  strong  re 
monstrances  were  made  by  the  Dutch  government  at  that 
time  against  those  proceedings,  we  might  rather  conclude 
it  was  not  a  point  generally  admitted  as  the  settled  law  of 
nations.  That  the  opinions  of  the  British  lawyers  and  judges 
in  such  an  instance,  however  respectable,  could  be  allowed  as 
authorities  only  so  far  as  they  might  show  the  opinion  of  a 
single  nation,  of  a  nation  that  was  a  party  in  the  question, 
and  whose  judgment  would  therefore  be  more  liable  to  a 
scruple  than  it  would  be  in  the  case  of  a  principle,  which 
should  have  had  the  sanction  of  similar  opinions  in  other 
countries. 

He  admitted  in  some  measure  the  distinction,  but  said  that 
the  final  acquiescence  of  the  Dutch  in  the  case  alluded  to 
appeared  from  the  fact  of  its  having  produced  no  eventual 
difference  between  the  two  nations,  and  that  as  there  was 
no  common  judge  among  sovereigns,  every  nation  must  con 
sider  its  own  decisions  as  authorities. 

I  then  said  that  we  thought  there  was  a  very  material  dis 
tinction  between  the  two  cases.  That  from  such  a  knowl 
edge  as  we  had  obtained  of  the  transactions  concerning  the 
Dutch  ships,  we  conceived  the  principle  upon  which  they 
were  held  liable  to  condemnation,  rested  on  the  idea  that 
they  were  adopted  as  French,  for  the  purpose  of  covering 
French  property,  that  they  navigated  by  special  licenses 
and  were  on  no  other  ground  admitted  into  the  French  colo 
nies,  insomuch  that  every  Dutch  vessel,  not  provided  with 
such  special  license,  was  liable  to  the  exclusions  of  the  per 
manent  French  colonial  system  of  that  time,  and  on  attempt 
ing  to  trade  with  the  French  colonies  would  have  been 
subjected  to  the  common  condemnation  of  a  prohibited 
commerce.  That  in  our  case,  a  general,  permanent  and 
unlimited  decree,  proceeding  from  the  supreme  authority  of 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  457 

the  French  nation,  had  permitted  our  intercourse  with  their 
colonies  : 1  that  our  merchants  had  in  consequence  pursued 
the  trade  upon  their  own  capitals,  on  their  own  account  and 
risk,  and  there  could,  therefore,  not  be  the  same  ground  for 
presuming  the  sole  intention  of  covering  the  property  of 
parties  to  the  war. 

He  said  that  the  general  nature  of  the  decree  would  not  in 
his  opinion  create  a  material  difference,  if  as  seemed  evident 
from  its  date,  it  was  adopted  with  an  immediate  view  of  the 
state  of  war  into  which  the  nation  had  just  entered,  and  in 
tended  manifestly  to  obviate  the  distress  which  that  state 
would  naturally  produce:  "but  I  presume  (he  added)  that 
the  counsel  for  the  American  claims  involving  these  ques 
tions  will  be  instructed  to  urge  this  distinction  before  the 
Lords  of  Appeal  "  :  and  on  my  answering  that  they  doubtless 
would  be,  he  said,  that  if  it  was  found  to  be  just,  he  believed 
it  would  have  its  proper  weight  on  the  minds  of  the  Com 
missioners. 

The  question  as  to  the  extent  of  places  besieged  or  block 
aded  was  noticed,  but  not  much  dwelt  upon.  I  stated  our 
idea  that  it  is  by  the  law  of  nations  limited  to  such  places  as 
may  be  surrounded  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  the  intro 
duction  of  all  supplies.  He  doubted  whether  the  principle 
could  be  admitted  in  such  a  latitude,  but  appeared  to  be  of 
opinion,  that  there  would  be  no  occasion  at  least  for  an  im 
mediate  discussion  of  this  article.2 

A  decision  had  already  taken  place  at  the  last  session  of 
the  Commissioners  concerning  property  shipped  in  Ameri 
can  names,  but  previously  contracted  for  as  French  property 
and  to  become  such  at  the  moment  of  landing.  The  prop- 

1  The  decree  of  March  26,  1793.     See  American  State  Papers,  Foreign  Relations, 
I.  363. 

2  See  Moore,  Digest  of  International  Law,  VII.  788,  797. 


458  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

erty  was  condemned,  and,  indeed,  Lord  Grenville  appeared 
to  think  there  was  very  little  weight  in  the  arguments  I 
urged  in  support  of  claims  resting  on  that  foundation.  I 
said  that  even  by  the  common  law,  a  transfer  of  property  was 
held  to  be  completed  only  by  the  delivery  of  the  article,  and 
that  where  the  shipment  is  on  neutral  account  and  risk,  the 
loss  in  case  of  capture  must  fall  upon  the  neutral  owner 
too  :  but  he  said  that  in  such  circumstances  the  intention 
to  cover  the  property  appears  so  manifest,  that  he  believed 
no  impartial  arbitrator  would  think  it  entitled  to  protection. 
I  had  been  informed  by  Mr.  Bayard  that  in  one  of  the  late 
causes,  a  question  had  been  started  by  one  of  the  Lords  Com 
missioners,  whether  potash  is  not  to  be  considered  in  future 
as  an  article  of  contraband.  I  told  his  lordship  that  I  felt 
it  incumbent  to  take  the  earliest  moment  to  be  explicit  on 
this  subject.  That  the  article  was  so  important  in  the  list 
of  exports  from  the  United  States,  that  their  interest  would 
be  most  essentially  injured  by  the  assumption  of  such  a  prin 
ciple,  and  I  could  see  no  possible  ground  upon  which  the  pre 
tension  could  be  raised.  He  said  that  the  occasion  from 
whence  the  question  arose  was  known  to  me  :  it  was  the  use 
that  had  recently  been  made  of  this  article  for  the  fabrica 
tion  of  gunpowder.  That  the  principle  upon  which  all  the 
modern  treaties  had  defined  the  specific  articles  to  be  held  as 
contraband,  was  the  use  which  may  be  made  of  such  mate 
rials  for  the  purposes  of  war.  That  saltpetre  itself  had  not 
been  in  the  class  of  contraband  before  the  use  of  gunpowder 
was  discovered,  and  that  it  was  perfectly  equitable  and  con 
formable  to  the  law  of  nations,  that  if  in  process  of  time  any 
article  should  be  made  subservient  to  warlike  employment 
which  has  not  been  previously  thus  used,  it  should  be  con 
sidered  as  having  lost  its  character  of  innocence,  and  be  in 
volved  in  the  proscription  of  contraband.  I  replied  that  if 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  459 

it  be  even  admitted,  then  an  article  unquestionably  free 
may  by  a  new  application  of  it  to  warlike  uses  assume  the 
dubious  character  of  a  mixed  article,  that  could  not  surely 
authorize  a  single  nation,  without  the  concurrent  assent  of 
others,  to  place  it  upon  the  list  of  contraband  :  and  having 
said  thus  much  I  should  only  add,  that  his  Lordship  had 
signed  the  treaty  long  after  the  new  use  of  potash  in  France 
had  been  made  and  was  universally  notorious ;  and  yet  it 
was  not  mentioned  in  the  treaty  among  the  contraband 
articles.  He  said  this  last  observation  was  certainly  con 
clusive  as  far  as  relates  to  the  United  States. 

One  more  observation  relative  to  the  Lords  of  Appeal  will 
conclude  the  topics  embraced  in  this  conversation  on  their 
subject.  I  said  that  these  claims  had  become  an  object  so 
highly  interesting  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  that  I 
could  have  wished  they  might  have  fairly  laid  before  them  the 
special  point  of  every  decision,  particularly  of  those  which 
might  be  unexpected  to  them,  or  variant  from  their  interests. 
In  such  a  case,  if  it  were  shown  to  their  conviction,  that  the 
determination  was  supported  by  the  admitted  laws  of  na 
tions,  I  had  not  a  doubt  but  they  would  freely  and  cheer 
fully  acquiesce.  That  I  could  not,  therefore,  but  regret 
that  the  decrees  of  the  Commissioners  were  frequently 
founded  upon  the  special  circumstances  of  the  case,  because 
the  point  of  decision  is  thereby  left  uncertain,  and  we  have 
no  opportunity  to  discuss  it,  or  to  receive  proper  satis 
faction  of  its  justice.  He  admitted  that  it  was  desirable  the 
point  should  appear  as  much  as  possible,  but  said  that  in 
these  cases  the  law,  the  fact  and  the  evidence  were  so  blended, 
and  became  often  so  necessarily  complicated,  as  made  it  im 
possible  to  reduce  the  determination  to  any  single  point,  or 
to  form  it  otherwise  than  upon  the  special  circumstances  of 
the  case. 


460  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

He  afterwards  mentioned  the  proposed  agreement  for 
the  settlement  of  the  minor  cases  by  an  arbitration.  But  I 
think  best  to  leave  this  matter  in  its  present  state  until  Mr. 
Pinckney  returns.  Mr.  Bayard  states  the  original  idea  to 
have  been  of  a  sort  of  compromise,  and  between  that  and  an 
arbitration  to  which  Lord  Grenville  pertinaciously  adheres, 
the  difference  is  too  great  for  me  to  give  my  assent  to  the 
alteration  without  instructions  for  my  warrant.  As  Mr. 
Pinckney  will  be  here  in  the  course  of  a  week  or  ten  days  at 
farthest,  this  delay  can  operate  no  material  injury. 

I  repeated  the  request  for  a  written  minute  of  the  agree 
ment  we  had  come  to,  concerning  the  pay  of  the  Commis 
sioners,  and  was  told  it  should  certainly  be  sent  me  shortly. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  for  me  to  add  many  obser 
vations  upon  the  substance  of  the  above-related  conver 
sation.  But  as  the  mere  statement  may  possibly  have  a 
tendency  to  raise  expectations  which  may  not  be  realized, 
I  find  myself  obliged  to  say,  that  I  have  not  the  confidence 
in  the  general  policy  of  this  cabinet,  or  in  the  particular  dis 
positions  of  any  one  member  of  it,  that  would  lead  me  to  any 
strong  reliance  upon  mere  verbal  declarations  :  much  less 
that  would  permit  me  to  draw  any  inferences  from  them. 
The  manner  of  Lord  Grenville  at  this  time  was  as  apparently 
candid  and  favorable  as  the  substance  of  what  he  said ;  but 
the  effects  alone  are  the  proper  grounds  of  dependence.  If 
it  be  true  that  the  Lords  of  Appeal  will  not  extend  any  un 
friendly  principle  beyond  the  clear  doctrines  of  former  prec 
edent  ;  if  it  be  true  that  the  manifest  distinction  between 
our  West  India  trade  during  this  war,  and  the  case  of  the 
Dutch  ships  in  1758  will  have  its  proper  weight  on  their 
minds  ;  if  it  be  true  that  there  will  be  no  occasion  to  discuss 
the  question  as  to  the  extent  of  places  besieged  or  blockaded, 
we  may  expect  a  much  more  liberal  measure  of  justice  from 


17951  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  461 

the  decrees  in  which  these  points  will  be  involved,  than  my 
belief  will  warrant.  As  to  the  doubt  raised  upon  the  nature 
of  potash,  the  treaty  certainly  disposes  of  that,  and  indeed  if 
it  did  not,  the  pretension  of  adding  to  the  list  of  contraband 
by  the  authority  of  this  nation  alone  is  so  absurd,  that  in  any 
other  than  a  British  maritime  court,  I  cannot  conceive  it 
would  be  seriously  made. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  domicile,  nothing  has  yet  been 
said  upon  which  a  conclusion  might  fairly  be  drawn.  A  can 
did  disposition  to  agree  upon  the  subject  in  an  equitable 
manner  is  professed,  and  as  it  is  reserved  for  further  dis 
cussion  it  will  of  course  be  noticed  in  future  communications.1 
I  have  the  honor  &c. 


TO  TIMOTHY  PICKERING 

LONDON,  December  22,  1795. 


Private. 
SIR  : 


One  of  the  favorite  objects  of  this  government  is  an  in 
crease  of  the  dominions  in  the  East  and  West  Indies.  A 
formidable  expedition  with  25,000  troops  has  recently  sailed 
for  the  latter,  but  has  already  met  with  two  gales  of  wind 
extremely  violent,  which  have  damaged  many  of  the  vessels, 
and  reduced  considerably  the  numbers  of  men  that  go  to 
gether.  It  has  also  been  delayed  in  its  departure  at  least 
three  months  later  than  was  intended.  It  appears  to  be  the 
general  opinion  here  that  it  must  inevitably  succeed,  that 
its  force  will  be  irresistible,  and  the  whole  island  of  St. 

1  In  urging  that  instructions  be  sent  to  Pinckney,  Washington  wrote  to  Pickering, 
March  6,  1796:  "Mr.  Adams'  letter,  and  Lord  Grenville's  propositions,  relative  to 
captured  vessels  of  a  certain  description,  and  with  respect  to  the  pay  of  the  commis 
sioners,  require  immediate  attention."  Writings  of  Washington  (Ford),  XIII.  175. 


462  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

Domingo  is  already  in  possession  of  this  country  by  antici 
pation.  Yet  if  it  should  fail,  Englishmen  may  remember 
that  it  will  not  be  the  first  instance  of  an  invincible  armada 
defeated,  and  considering  the  climate  to  which  they  are 
going  the  loss  of  three  months  of  the  season  may  be  con 
sidered  as  equivalent  to  the  loss  of  half  of  their  men. 

That  they  may  succeed  is  not  I  think  to  be  wished  by 
Americans.  For,  Sir,  it  appears  more  and  more  clear  that 
the  real  and  ultimate  object  of  this  government  in  their 
present  war,  is  to  establish  the  commercial  and  maritime 
supremacy  of  the  nation  over  the  ruins  of  those  of  France. 
They  have  hitherto  been  so  far  successful  in  this  project, 
that  they  are  encouraged  vigorously  to  pursue  it,  and  if  they 
can  terminate  the  war  by  obtaining  possession  of  Corsica, 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  of  Martinico,  with  their  own 
navy  greatly  increased,  and  that  of  France  equally  reduced, 
they  will  have  gone  very  far  towards  securing  their  purpose. 
It  is  intimated  by  the  ministerial  partisans  that  little  hesi 
tation  will  be  made  here  at  giving  up  the  Austrian  Nether 
lands,  and  even  the  cause  of  the  Stadtholder  in  the  United 
Provinces,  provided  an  indemnity  shall  be  given  to  this  coun 
try  by  an  accession  to  its  transmarine  possessions.  I  have 
very  little  doubt  of  the  fact,  because  the  sacrifice  of  allies 
and  the  abandonment  of  solemn  previous  stipulations,  would 
operate  only  as  a  removal  of  the  mask,  as  soon  as  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  taken  has  been  secured. 

It  is  not  merely  from  views  of  commercial  aggrandize 
ment,  however,  that  the  posession  of  the  French  islands  in 
the  West  Indies  is  held  as  an  object  of  the  first  magnitude 
in  this  country.  It  enters  into  all  their  calculations  relative 
to  the  United  States.  It  forms  a  part  of  their  defensive 
system,  and  they  believe  that  their  commercial  existence 
depends  in  some  measure  upon  the  event.  This  may  serve 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  463 

as  a  clue  to  the  extreme  anxiety  which  they  have  uniformly 
discovered  since  the  commencement  of  this  war  to  exclude 
the  Americans  not  only  from  their  own,  but  from  all  the 
foreign  islands.  It  explains  the  orders  of  the  6th  of  No 
vember,  1793.  It  accounts  for  their  obstinate  adherence  to 
that  clause  in  the  I2th  article  of  the  late  treaty,  which  has 
been  suspended.  It  is  the  key  to  that  singular  principle 
which  they  are  now  determined  on  their  single  authority  to 
establish  as  the  settled  law  of  nations,  that  no  other  than  the 
customary  peace  trade  can  be  allowed  to  neutral  nations,  by 
a  belligerent  party  in  time  of  war.  Anything  that  shall 
serve  as  a  barrier  between  the  United  States  and  the  West 
Indies  will  be  attempted  by  them,  and  in  addition  to  all 
their  other  grounds  of  alarm,  they  are  now  apprehensive 
that  if  France  should  retain  her  islands  at  the  peace,  she  will 
be  compelled,  by  her  own  want  of  navigation,  to  leave  the 
intercourse  between  them  and  the  United  States  as  free  to 
the  latter  as  it  has  been  since  this  war,  and  that  she  will  be 
unable  to  resume  the  exclusive  system  at  least  for  several 
years.  The  genius  of  the  navigation  act  shudders  at  the 
prospect,  and  will  think  thousands  of  mere  human  lives,  and 
millions  of  treasure,  most  profitably  spent  in  preventing  the 
reality. 

But,  as  Mr.  Hammond  says,  it  is  impossible  for  them  to 
think  of  everything,  and  they  sometimes  find  themselves 
obliged  to  yield  to  an  irresistible  course  of  events.  I  am 
sensible  how  dangerous  a  thing  it  is  to  deliver  an  opinion 
upon  future  occurrences,  else  I  would  venture  to  foretell 
that  whatever  commercial  negotiations  may  at  any  time  be 
carried  on  between  the  United  States  and  Britain,  what 
ever  is  given  by  the  latter  will  be  extorted  by  the  necessity 
of  the  times,  and  nothing  will  be  conceded  to  any  liberality 
of  system.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  commercial  liberality 


464  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

in  the  country.  To  engross  the  commerce  of  the  world  to 
themselves  is  the  professed  or  secret  wish  of  every  heart 
among  them,  and  if  there  are  a  very  small  number  who  be 
lieve  that  the  prosperity  of  other  nations  would  rather  ad 
vance  than  prejudice  their  own,  the  effect  of  this  opinion 
is  destroyed  by  the  political  consideration  that  their  views 
would  not  be  secured  by  their  own  positive  advantage,  with 
out  a  correspondent  negative  for  all  other  nations.  The 
character  of  the  former  supposition  is  equality,  but  all 
their"  ideas  run  towards  their  superiority. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  circumstance  very  remarkable  that  at 
this  time  there  is  before  the  Privy  Council  a  proposal  for 
admitting  into  the  ports  of  this  country  the  produce  of 
foreign  West  India  Islands,  in  neutral  vessels  —  rum,  sugar, 
coffee  and  cocoa,  for  re-exportation,  and  cotton  and  molasses 
for  consumption  here.  The  merchants  appear  to  be  of 
opinion  that  this  will  soon  be  permitted  by  proclamation, 
and  if  so  the  present  would  certainly  be  a  favorable  moment 
to  us  for  negotiation  upon  this  subject.  But  what  has  in 
duced  them  to  be  prepared  for  a  regulation  so  different  from 
the  spirit  of  the  condition  to  the  1 2th  article  of  the  treaty  ? 
It  is  because  their  adherence  to  their  own  system  has  driven 
the  Americans  into  another  course  of  trade,  from  which  it 
has  not  been  practicable  to  exclude  them  :  because  that  other 
course  of  trade  not  only  tends  to  carry  their  custom  else 
where,  but  to  give  them  the  means  and  opportunity  of  tracing 
new  channels  for  their  commerce  :  because  the  merchants  of 
this  country  are  losing  their  American  commissions,  and 
ten  per  cent  of  profit  upon  the  whole  balance  of  the  trade  in 
the  rate  of  exchange ;  in  short,  because  their  own  apparent 
interest  forces  them  to  an  indulgence  equally  adverse  to 
their  feelings  and  their  principles.  But  if  they  can  obtain 
possession  of  the  French  Islands,  then  the  old  maxims  of 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  465 

exclusion  will  be  revived  in  all  their  force,  and  instead  of 
resigning  themselves  to  a  mere  participation  of  our  profits, 
they  will  boldly  resume  the  purpose  of  intercepting  them 
from  us. 

The  scarcity  of  grain  has  still  an  appearance  so  alarming, 
that  the  Parliament  besides  many  regulations  to  reduce  the 
consumption  have  also  encouraged  its  importation  by  a  bounty 
upon  wheat,  and  upon  Indian  corn.  It  was  at  first  pro 
posed  to  make  a  distinction,  so  as  to  give  a  larger  bounty  on 
the  importations  from  the  Mediterranean,  than  on  those 
from  America  ;  but  they  were  finally  put  upon  the  same 
footing.  The  wants  of  Europe  during  the  ensuing  year  will 
undoubtedly  turn  to  the  benefit  of  the  United  States  as  much 
as  they  have  ever  yet  done,  but  on  their  part  they  must  not 
suffer  their  patience  to  be  yet  exhausted.  The  American 
will  infallibly  triumph  over  the  European  system  eventually, 
provided  it  be  pursued  with  as  much  perseverance.  But  an 
hour  of  haste  or  resentment  indulged  in  at  the  present  mo 
ment  would  take  the  advantage  which  it  now  possesses  from 
its  hand,  and  throw  the  scale  of  probable  success  on  this  side 
of  the  water. 

All  my  letters  to  you,  Sir,  public  and  private,  have  de 
livered  my  sentiments  with  a  freedom  which  perhaps  needs 
an  apology,  and  which  certainly  nothing  but  an  unlimited 
confidence  can  reconcile  with  personal  prudence.  A  sense 
of  duty  it  is  hoped  will  be  admitted  at  least  as  my  excuse,  and 
if  my  opinions  are  in  any  instance  warped  by  prejudice,  I 
am  persuaded  that  your  discernment  will  distinguish,  and 
hope  your  candor  will  overlook  them.  I  remain,  etc. 


2  H 


466  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

TO   SYLVANUS   BOURNE 

LONDON,  December  24,  1795. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

Mr.  Johnson  sent  me  a  few  days  ago  your  favor  of  the 
ist  instant,  inclosing  the  letter  of  Mr.  Roos.  I  shall  accord 
ingly  procure  for  him  a  copying  press,  with  a  considerable 
quantity  of  the  paper  and  ink-powder.  The  directions  for 
making  the  ink  and  for  using  the  press  are  both  in  French 
and  English,  and  must  be  attentively  observed.  I  shall 
perhaps  bring  the  press  over  with  me,  as  I  expect  to  return 
in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks.  If,  however,  an  earlier  op 
portunity  to  send  it  shall  offer,  I  will  embrace  it. 

The  most  recent  accounts  from  America  contain  the  usual 
mixture  of  sweet  and  bitter,  but  with  more  than  an  ordinary 
quantity  of  both  ingredients.  The  attack  upon  the  Presi 
dent  is  still  carried  on  with  that  virulence  and  brutality 
which  have  uniformly  been  characteristic  of  an  American 
party  mingling  with  a  foreign  influence.  Mr.  Randolph,  I 
suppose,  means  to  come  forward  with  his  publication  at  the 
moment  when  Congress  shall  meet.  The  depredations  by 
the  Bermuda  privateers  continue  to  irritate  and  fester  the 
public  mind,  and  the  present  session  of  the  national  legis 
lature  will  doubtless  produce  great  heats,  and  perhaps  ani 
mosities  ;  though  I  hope  not  any  dangerous  divisions. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  this  is  the  critical  situa 
tion  of  our  country  at  a  moment  when  the  national  prosperity 
continues  to  grow  with  a  luxuriance  of  which  the  annals 
of  the  world  give  no  example.  One  would  think  our  people 
determined  to  dash  the  cup  of  happiness  from  their  own  lips, 
merely  because  it  overflows.  To  give  you  an  instance  of 
our  commercial  state,  a  Boston  newspaper  of  October  14, 
states  that  within  the  month  preceding  that  date,  one  hun- 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  467 

dred  sail  of  vessels  had  entered  there  from  foreign  ports. 
It  is  said  here  to  be  unquestionable,  that  the  exports  from 
the  United  States  during  the  year  ending  September  30, 
1795,  amounted  to  more  than  thirty-five  millions  of  dollars. 
When  we  recollect  that  at  the  same  date  only  four  years 
before,  one  half  of  this  sum  was  considered  as  the  proof  of 
some  extraordinary  cause,  which  would  not  be  supported 
to  an  equal  extent  during  the  years  subsequent,  is  it  possible 
to  avoid  the  reflection,  that  the  American  government,  and 
the  President  in  particular,  do  not  meet  with  that  retri 
bution  which  has  been  richly  deserved  ?  At  the  present  mo 
ment  if  our  neutrality  be  still  preserved,  it  will  be  due  to  the 
President  alone.  Nothing  but  his  weight  of  character  and 
reputation,  combined  with  his  firmness  and  political  in 
trepidity,  could  have  stood  against  the  torrent  that  is  still 
tumbling  with  a  fury  that  resounds  even  across  the  Atlantic. 
He  is  now  pledged,  and  he  is  unmoved.  If  his  system  of  ad 
ministration  now  prevails,  ten  years  more  will  place  the 
United  States  among  the  most  powerful  and  opulent  nations 
on  earth.  If  he  fails,  though  the  Demon  of  Discord  may 
raise  a  cloud  of  prejudice  and  obloquy  around  the  splendor 
of  his  fame  for  the  present  moment,  it  will  only  serve  to  add 
a  brighter  radiance  to  his  future  glory.  Yet  I  deprecate  this 
event  because  the  value  of  his  administration  will  in  that 
case  be  proved  by  the  deprivation  of  the  blessings  it  has 
secured  to  his  country. 

This,  my  good  friend,  is  not  the  language  of  a  courtier. 
You  and  I  have  known  the  time  when  not  to  applaud  the  man 
who  united  all  hearts  was  almost  held  to  be  a  crime.  Should 
that  time  return  again  while  he  lives,  my  tribute  of  venera 
tion  and  gratitude  shall  again  remain  silent  in  my  heart. 
But  now,  when  he  does  not  unite  all  hearts,  when  on  the  con 
trary  a  powerful  party  at  home,  and  a  mighty  influence  from 


468  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

abroad,  are  joining  all  their  forces  to  assail  his  reputation 
and  his  character,  I  think  it  my  duty  as  an  American  to 
avow  my  sentiments  as  they  concern  that  man. 

You  know,  I  suppose,  that  in  the  course  of  the  last  sum 
mer  a  peace  was  concluded  with  all  the  western  Indians. 
The  last  papers  mention  the  receipt  of  official  news  of  the 
peace  with  the  Algerines.1  In  addition  to  these  may  be 
reckoned  the  successful  issue  of  Mr.  Pinckney's  negotiation 
in  Spain.2  In  this  country  a  relaxation  from  the  rigor  of 
their  navigation  laws  has  already  become  inevitable,  if  they 
remain  at  war,  and  we  at  peace.  Here  are  objects  secured 
by  our  neutrality,  and  by  that  alone.  Compare  them  with 
the  most  advantageous  issue  that  a  war  might  by  any  possi 
bility  have  had,  and  tell  me  what  you  think  of  those  who  still 
hesitate  about  the  choice  ?  Though  by  the  way,  I  suspect 
the  Algerine  peace  is  to  be  abused,  and  we  are  to  be  told  it 
might  have  been  had  upon  infinitely  better  terms. 

There  is  another  pretty  story  current,  arising  from  the 
same  source,  but  which  it  is  to  be  feared  will  now  lose  its 
use.  It  is,  that  when  France  and  Spain  were  negotiating 
their  late  peace,  one  of  the  articles  insisted  on  by  the  former 
was  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  for  us.  But  upon  Mr. 
Pinckney's  going  through  Paris  without  communicating  to 
the  French  government  Mr.  Jay's  treaty,  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety  immediately  sent  orders  to  Barthelemy  to 
give  up  that  point.  I  have  this  account  as  coming  from  the 
express  knowledge  of  Mr.  Monroe.3  Had  Mr.  Pinckney  failed, 

1  Concluded  September  5,   1795,  by  Joseph  Donaldson,  Jr.,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States.     The  text  is  in  American  State  Papers,  Foreign  Relations,  I.  530. 

2  Taking  form  in  the  treaty  of  October  27,  1795,  which  reached  the  United  States 
February  22,  1796,  and  was  ratified  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Senate. 

3  Monroe  to  Madison,  September  8,  1795,  in  Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II.  355. 
Pinckney  did  not  ask  the  interference  of  France,  because  he  knew  the  displeasure 
felt  by  the  treaty  with  England.     Life  and  Correspondence  of  Rufus  King,  II.  82. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  469 

what  a  charming  anecdote  this  was  to  make  the  treaty  with 
Britain  odious,  and  to  give  a  lift  to  the  influence  of  France. 
But  alas  !  when  the  generous  bounty  of  the  Committee 
was  withdrawn,  it  seems  the  United  States  could  obtain  the 
same  thing  on  their  own  account.  But  perhaps,  indeed,  the 
tale  will  be  worth  keeping  up,  to  show  what  France  would 
have  done  for  us,  if  we  had  been  good  children. 

It  is  on  this  ground  that  the  treaty  with  Algiers  is  to  be 
blamed.  I  know  nothing  of  the  circumstances  attending 
that  negotiation;  but  I  perceive  that  a  great  deal  of  credit 
is  meant  to  be  given  to  the  French  government  for  what  they 
would  have  done  for  us  in  that  matter,  if  time  had  been  given 
them,  and,  therefore,  I  conclude  they  had  little  or  no  hand 
in  what  was  done.1 

That  the  Americans  now  in  France  should  love  the  French 
nation  and  admire  the  French  Republic,  is  natural  and  ra 
tional.  They  are  a  most  amiable  people.  Few  Americans 
have  had  an  opportunity  to  be  more  acquainted  with  what 
they  formerly  were  than  I  have,  and  if  I  do  not  look  on  them 
as  the  first  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  it  is  only  because 
I  have  a  country.  The  American  people  are  under  obliga 
tions  to  France.  I  acknowledge  them  and  would  have  them 
repaid  with  honor  and  generosity  :  nor  can  I  dissent  from  the 
feelings  of  gratitude  which  actuate  so  strongly  our  country 
men  in  France  on  that  account.  But  if  there  are  Americans 
who  have  considered  speculation  in  the  funds  of  the  United 
States  as  almost  a  disqualification  for  political  opinions,  and 
those  very  Americans  have  speculated  in  the  funds  of  the 
French  Revolution,  I  think  it  would  become  them  to  be 

1The  French  consul  was  originally  concerned  in  the  negotiation,  and  Hum 
phreys  was  directed  to  obtain  the  cooperation  of  the  French  government.  The 
event  was  largely  due,  however,  to  the  aid  of  a  Swede,  Pierre  Eric  Skjoldebrand, 
who  was  associated  with  Donaldson. 


470  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

moderate  in  their  panegyrics,  or  expect  that  their  opinions 
will  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  allowance. 

I  remain  &c 


MY  DEAR  SIR  : 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  December  29,  1795. 


When  I  say  I  hope  to  be  relieved  from  my  present  situa 
tion  in  a  few  days,  I  wish  not  to  have  my  motives  misunder 
stood.  In  my  letter  from  Helvoetsluys  you  will  find  that 
I  came  over  here  not  unaware  of  what  my  business  might 
draw  upon  myself,  and  when  you  advise  me  to  be  of  good 
cheer  and  courage,  it  must  be  from  a  consideration  of  the 
thing  in  a  similar  perspective.  But  I  should  be  a  wretched 
servant  of  my  country  indeed,  if  I  were  capable  of  shrink 
ing  from  the  performance  of  a  public  service,  because  it  may 
be  disagreeable  or  even  dangerous.  When  I  am  clearly  con 
vinced  that  my  duty  commands  me  to  act,  if  the  love  of  ease, 
or  the  love  of  life,  or  the  love  of  fame  itself,  dear  as  it  is,  could 
arrest  my  hand,  or  give  me  a  moment's  hesitation  in  the 
choice,  I  should  certainly  be  fit  for  no  situation  of  public 
trust  whatever.  This  principle  is  a  moral  obligation  upon 
every  man  in  office,  and  I  hope  not  to  be  considered  as  des 
titute  of  it.  " Universal  reproach"  is  indeed  "far  worse  to 
bear  than  violence";  but  I  am  fully  sensible  that  it  must 
never  interfere  with  the  dictates  of  one's  own  mind  for  the 
regulation  of  his  conduct. 

So  much  for  the  principle.  But  I  may  go  a  little  further. 
The  struggle  against  a  popular  clamor  is  not  without  its 
charms  in  my  mind.  Nothing  great  or  valuable  among  men 
was  ever  achieved  without  the  counterpoise  of  strong  op- 


1795]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  471 

position,  and  the  persecution,  that  proceeds  from  opinion 
becomes  itself  a  title  to  esteem,  when  the  opinion  is  found  to 
have  been  erroneous.  There  are,  indeed,  situations  in  which 
no  service  can  be  rendered,  without  the  assistance  and  support 
of  popularity ;  but  there  are  others  in  which  it  can  be  of  no 
public  advantage,  and  in  that  case  popular  opposition  is 
nothing  more  than  a  danger  to  defy,  or  a  difficulty  to  over 
come.  To  say  that  the  danger  may  prove  fatal,  or  the  diffi 
culty  insuperable,  is  no  more  than  to  say  that  a  soldier 
marching  to  battle  may  leave  his  life  upon  the  field. 

It  is  not  therefore  the  dread  of  newspaper  scurrility  or  of 
a  burning  effigy  that  is  irksome  to  me  at  the  present  moment, 
or  that  induces  a  wish  to  be  relieved  from  the  execution  of 
the  business  for  which  I  was  ordered  hither.  It  is  another 
thing  which  was  equally  within  my  expectation  before  I 
came  from  Holland,  but  which  I  have  found  to  a  greater 
extent  than  I  imagined.  It  is  that  all  commercial  negotia 
tion  on  the  part  of  this  country  will  be  captious  and  illiberal. 
That  nothing  will  be  conceded  but  to  necessity,  and  every 
thing  will  be  obtained  that  artifice  or  cajolery  can  pilfer,  or 
that  insolence  under  all  the  forms  of  courtly  politeness  can 
extort.  I  have  been  accustomed  all  my  life  to  plain  dealing 
and  candor,  and  am  not  sufficiently  versed  in  the  art  of  politi 
cal  swindling  to  be  prepared  for  negotiating  with  an  Euro 
pean  Minister  of  State.  In  other  words,  besides  numerous 
other  deficiencies  of  which  on  this  occasion  I  am  strongly 
sensible,  I  have  not  the  experience  which  the  proper  per 
formance  of  the  duty  would  require.  It  is  not  my  intention 
to  be  abusive,  or  to  call  things  by  harder  names  than  they 
deserve ;  but  my  correspondence  with  the  Secretary  of 
State  will  shew  to  demonstration  what  sort  of  negotiators 
I  have  found  here. 

Lord  Grenville  is  extremely  plausible,  and  has  the  art  of 


472  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1795 

simplicity  to  an  eminent  degree.  If  I  am  not  misinformed 
he  affects  the  reputation  of  having  a  word  upon  which  de 
pendence  may  be  placed.  But  I  have  no  reason  to  believe 
in  his  candor  or  his  sincerity.  Mr.  Hammond  is  an  under 
Secretary  of  State  in  his  office.  He  is  only  cunning,  and 
though  he  may  thereby  successfully  practise  an  imposition, 
he  is  too  easily  seen  through  to  obtain  the  confidence  neces 
sary  for  thorough-paced  intrigue.1 

Between  them  both  they  have  partially  executed  a  hope 
ful  project  upon  me,  the  only  result  of  which  hitherto  has  been 
to  place  me  in  an  awkward  and  ridiculous  situation,  but 
which  might  have  led  me  into  very  improper  conduct,  and 
such  as  might  even  have  drawn  at  least  a  color  of  censure 
upon  the  American  government  itself.  The  ultimate  ob 
ject  of  this  manoeuvre  has  not  yet  been  unfolded,  though  I 
think  I  know  what  it  is.  It  will  perhaps  never  be  worth  my 
pains  to  write,  or  yours  to  read,  a  tedious  detail  of  a  trans 
action,  insignificant  in  itself,  and  to  which  circumstances 
only  may  give  importance.  Should  that  prove  the  case,  you 
shall  have  the  story  at  full  length.  At  present  I  shall  only 
say  that  it  suited  their  purposes  to  convert  me  into  a  minis 
ter  to  this  Court,  and  that  they  have  persevered  in  this 
intention  with  such  a  supple  obstinacy,  that  one  of  my  prin 
cipal  cares  has  been  to  disclaim  the  proffered  acknowledg- 

1  "I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  anxiety  and  perseverance  with  which  the 
design  was  pursued  on  my  arrival  here,  of  recognizing  me  in  a  character  to  which  I 
had  neither  right  nor  pretensions,  was  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  me  as  the  negotiator 
for  the  remainder  of  the  treaty,  to  the  exclusion  of  Mr.  Pinckney.  Indeed,  in  the 
course  of  the  discussions  which  were  produced  by  my  resistance  against  that  design, 
Mr.  Hammond  very  intelligibly  intimated  to  me,  that  this  government  considered 
it  as  a  sort  of  engagement  on  the  part  of  the  American  government,  that  this  nego 
tiation  was  to  be  conducted  by  me,  and  he  expressed  in  terms  not  very  equivocal 
an  idea  that  Mr.  Pinckney  was  viewed  here  as  unfriendly  to  this  government,  and 
that  they  should  have  a  decided  preference  for  treating  with  me,  rather  than  with 
him."  To  the  Secretary  of  State,  January  20,  1796.  Ms. 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  473 

ment  of  a  rank  to  which  I  have  no  title,  and  to  avoid  every 
act  that  could  make  me  accessary  to  an  usurpation  of  char 
acter.  The  determination  on  my  part  has  been  pursued 
with  the  utmost  candor  and  frankness.  On  theirs  they  have 
neither  been  ingenuous  to  avow  their  design,  nor  compliant 
to  abandon  it. 

But  in  this  singular  contest,  while  they  are  so  liberal  of 
their  acknowledgments  and  I  am  obliged  to  persist  in  declin 
ing  them,  the  result  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  I  am  not 
in  my  proper  place.  This  conclusion,  combining  with  the 
species  of  negotiation  that  I  should  expect  from  those  who 
have  already  given  me  such  specimens,  leads  me  to  the  wish 
of  having  nothing  more  to  do  with  them,  and  of  being  re 
lieved  from  a  situation  of  personal  embarrassment  to  my 
self,  and  of  little  or  no  probable  utility  to  the  public. 

Mr.  Pinckney  is  hourly  expected  to  return,  and  his  ex 
perience  and  character,  as  well  as  his  talents,  are  much  better 
adapted  to  treat  with  men  to  whom  action  is  an  ambush 
and  thought  a  strategem,  than  I  am.1  As  to  the  subject  of 
negotiation,  you  know  that  the  point  of  the  twelfth  article 
of  the  late  treaty  touches  the  ark  of  their  navigation  system, 
and  you  may  judge  from  thence  what  a  disposition  they  will 
have  to  be  liberal  on  that  score.  After  they  have  been  to  the 
very  verge  of  a  war  with  the  United  States  by  their  en 
deavors  to  exclude  the  Americans  from  the  French  islands, 
it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  they  will  readily  give  us  access 
to  their  own.  But  at  present  their  own  interest  so  loudly 
calls  on  them  for  a  relaxation  of  their  navigation  laws,  that 
they  now  find  themselves  obliged  to  submit  to  it  in  a  degree, 
and  possibly  they  may  be  more  inclined  towards  an  agree- 

1  Pinckney  arrived  in  London,  January  13,  1796,  returning  from  his  mission  to 
Spain.  He  had  written  to  Washington,  October  10,  1795,  asking  to  be  released 
from  office  in  June,  1796. 


474  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1795 

ment  advantageous  to  our  interests  than  they  have  been 
hitherto.  Of  this  however  I  can  say  nothing  positive  not 
having  had  any  conversation  with  them  from  which  any 
inference  can  be  drawn. 

The  principle  upon  which  they  meant  to  have  carried 
through  the  6th  of  November  [1793]  orders,  is  that  a  bellig 
erent  power  is  under  no  obligation  to  allow  any  trade  be 
tween  a  neutral  nation  and  the  other  belligerent  than  the 
customary  peace  trade.  This  rule  they  have  endeavored 
in  former  wars  to  establish,  and  they  have  not  yet  aban 
doned  it.  I  had  not  long  since  a  conversation  with  one  of 
their  eminent  professional  men  on  the  subject.  He  endeav 
ored  to  convince  me  that  the  maxim  is  highly  favorable  to 
the  permanent  national  interest  of  the  United  States. 
"Separate  yourselves"  said  he  "from  the  mere  temporary 
consideration  of  present  circumstances.  You  are  a  com 
mercial  nation,  and  the  only  powers  with  whom  you  will  be 
liable  to  be  engaged  in  war  are  those  that  have  possessions  in 
the  West  Indies.  There  is  the  part  in  which  you  may  ex 
pect  to  find  them  most  vulnerable.  But  if  you  admit  the 
principle  that  at  the  moment  when  you  may  be  involved  in 
such  a  war  your  antagonist  may  open  to  neutral  nations,  a 
trade  which  in  time  of  peace  he  always  reserves  exclusively 
to  himself,  you  disarm  yourselves  of  the  most  efficacious 
weapon  you  have."  I  told  him  that  the  Americans  chose 
rather  to  admit  the  Law  of  Nations  as  it  is,  than  to  aim  at 
the  settlement  of  principles  which  might  be  favorable  to  their 
particular  interest ;  and  further  that  they  did  not  wish  to  sup 
pose  a  state  of  war  between  themselves  and  any  other  nation, 
as  it  was  their  desire  to  remain  at  peace  with  all  the  world. 

I  am  in  anxious  expectation  of  the  accounts  from  Amer 
ica  since  the  meeting  of  Congress.  There  is  every  reason  to 


i795l  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  475 

apprehend  that  the  session  will  be  a  period  of  political 
warmth,  if  not  of  animosity.  The  direct  and  formal  attack 
upon  the  President,  which  has  been  carried  on  in  the  usual 
style,  and  which  is  noticed  in  your  letter,  was  not  unexpected 
to  me,  and  I  think  you  must  have  received  very  soon  after 
the  date  of  yours  a  letter  from  me  written  at  the  Hague  in 
July  or  August,  containing  the  opinions  I  had  then  formed 
on  that  head.  That  the  systematic  course  of  abuse  pointed 
against  him,  and  which  was  arranged  in  Europe  before  it  was 
put  in  execution  in  America,  is  connected  with  the  scheme  for 
dividing  the  American  executive,  is  perhaps  nothing  more 
than  a  conjecture  on  my  part ;  but  I  have  little  doubt,  that  it 
was  merely  preparatory  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  forward 
in  due  time  a  change  of  men  or  of  government  in  our  country. 
It  is  however  proper  for  me  on  this  occasion  to  observe, 
that  I  believe  there  are  two  different  branches  of  the  system, 
which  plays  with  so  much  efficacy  across  the  Atlantic  upon 
the  passions  and  upon  the  opinions  of  the  American  people. 
One  of  these  branches  is  not  hostile  to  the  real  interest  of 
the  United  States,  or  at  least  it  is  much  less  so  than  the 
other.  The  attack  proceeded  from  the  most  unfriendly 
quarter,  and  if  it  had  the  acquiescence  of  the  other,  as  an 
experiment  it  had  not  their  approbation  ;  and  if  it  should 
fail  of  success,  it  is  not  improbable  but  the  trial  of  honey  will 
be  substituted  for  that  of  vinegar.  Excuse  this  trivial 
image.  I  can  mean  nothing  ludicrous  in  speaking  upon  such 
a  subject ;  it  conveys  merely  my  idea  of  their  intentions,  and 
I  would  not  have  used  it,  if  I  could  venture  to  be  more 
explicit. 

I  am  &C.1 

1  "The  newspapers  sent  herewith  contain  intelligence  of  two  important  events. 
The  armistice  concluded  between  the  French  and  Austrian  armies  on  the  Rhine, 
and  the  return  into  port  of  the  famous  West  India  expedition.  It  remains  as  yet 


476  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  February  icy 1796. 

Mr.  Randolph's  pamphlet1  had  arrived  before  Mr.  Hall, 
but  I  had  seen  only  some  extracts  from  it,  which :  were  and 
yet  are  dealt  out  in  some  of  the  daily  papers  here; .  I  think 
he  rolls  the  stone  of  Sisyphus  with  a  more  impetuous  recoil 
than  I  ever  witnessed  before.  I  confess  I  should  never 
have  thought  that  even  the  delirium  of  guilt  could  publish 
such  a  production,  and  imagine  it  would  injure  the  reputation 
of  the  President,  or  defend  that  of  the  writer.  Itf.niy  last 
numbered  letter  to  you  I  mentioned  an  opinion  that  the 
party  in  France  would  perhaps  return  to  the  courting  system, 
and  I  am  almost  tempted  to  believe  that  they  advised  this 
publication  by  way  of  atonement.  For  it  seems  tcf  me  im 
possible  that  the  production  should  have  been  given  to  the 
world,  but  by  the  agency  of  a  person  inveterate  even  to  ran 
cor  against  Mr.  Randolph,  and  disposed  to  raise  the  character 
of  the  President  higher  if  possible  than  its  former  elevation. 

But  the  publication  to  the  world  of  confidential. opinions 
and  sentiments  entertained  by  the  President  with  respect 
to  the  European  parties  and  governments,  will  produce  in. a 
degree  the  effect  for  which  it  was  calculated;  They  will 
produce  some  mischief.  The  sensation  here  upon  seeing  a 

uncertain  whether  the  former  is  a  presage  of  speedy  pacification,  or  a  mere  agree 
ment  to  take  a  breathing  spell  during  the  extremity  of  the  season.  As  a  neutral 
nation,  deeply  interested  in  the  fate  of  the  West  Indies,  we  I  think  may  consider 
the  failure  of  the  formidable  apparatus  of  this  country  as  a  favorable  event.  While 
Britain  weakens  by  war,  and  America  strengthens  by  peace,  every  true  American 
must  feel  a  double  satisfaction."  To  John  Adams,  February  I,  1796.  Msi. 

1  A  Vindication  of  Mr.  Randolph's  Resignation,  Philadelphia,  1795.  See  Conway, 
Omitted  Chapters  of  History  disclosed  in  the  Life  and  Papers  of  Edmund  Randolph^ 
1888. 


i796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  477 

proclamation  to  all  the  world  that  the  President  has  been 
inimical  to  England,  and  the  friend  of  the  French  cause,  is 
very  perceptible  and  very  strong.  It  will  not  only  corrob 
orate  and  confirm  that  deep  rooted  malignity  towards  us 
which  governs  the  cabinet,  but  it  alienates  and  irritates  the 
part  of  the  nation  who  are  well  disposed  towards  us. 

They  have  however  so  much  at  present  upon  their  hands 
that  they  will  not  quarrel  with  us.  But  no  small  use  will  be 
made  of  this  pamphlet  by  the  Ministers  of  this  country.  I 
have  reason  to  suppose  that  it  has  given  them  great  satis 
faction,  for  their  purposes  concur  so  thoroughly  with  those 
of  Mr.  Randolph,  that  they  seize  with  delight  everything 
that  contributes  to  promote  them.  It  is  one  of  those  sin 
gularities  which  seem  reserved  exclusively  for  the  compli 
cation  of  political  intrigues,  that  the  views  of  our  French 
party  and  those  of  the  Hawkesbury  l  conclave  here,  are  ex- 
T  actly  the  same,  and  accordingly  they  are  continually  play- 

.  ing  into  each  other's  hands.     They  wish  to  perpetuate  the 
•,.«• »    - 

variances  between  the  United  States  and  Britain,  and  ar 
dently  catch  at  everything  that  has  a  tendency  to  that  end. 
Upon  this  subject  I  think  it  necessary  to   give  you    my 
opinion  explicitly.     The  cabinet  here  have  of  late  affected 
"".'i  great  regard  for  the  Government  of  the  United  States.     In 
''.this  particular  too  they  have  coincided  with  our  most  virulent 
anarchists,  and  have  taken  all  possible  pains  to  countenance 
and  give  credit  to  their  assertions  that  the  American  ad 
ministrations  were  upon  terms  of  great  harmony  with  that 
of  Britain.     The   truth   is   that   the  American   Government, 
and  those  who  are  at  the  head  of  its  administration,  have  not 
upon  earth  more  rancorous  enemies,  than  the  springs  which 
move  the  executive  machine  of  this  country.     They  know 
perfectly  well  that  the  strength,  as  well  as  the   prosperity, 

1  Charles  Jcnkinson  (1727-1808),  who  was  created  Earl  of  Liverpool  in  1796. 


478  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

of  the  United  States,  depend  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  Gov 
ernment  ;  and  above  all  things  they  dread  the  proof  which 
any  continued  course  of  tranquillity  would  afford  that  it  is 
a  good  practical  government.  In  short  every  one  of  their 
feelings,  individual  and  national,  is  hostile  to  us,  and  the 
policy  of  Vergennes  and  Montmorin  to  prevent  our  ac 
quiring  a  consistency  which  would  make  us  really  formi 
dable,  is  here  envenomed  by  the  recollection  of  former  defeat 
and  disappointment. 

Between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  no  cordial 
ity  can  exist.  I  do  not  think  it  is  on  our  part  to  be  desired. 
But  peace  may,  and  I  hope  will,  continue,  notwithstanding 
all  the  conspiracies  that  have  been  formed  against  it  in 
America  and  Europe.1 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  March  2Oth,  1796. 


MY  DEAR  SIR  : 


The  people  indeed  everywhere  ardently  sigh  for  peace. 
Everywhere  they  perceive  that  they  have  been  made  the 
victims  of  their  own  passions  and  follies.  They  are  every- 

1  "Mr.  Adams,  who  was  with  me  this  morning  [February  22,  1796],  in  his  wrath 
and  indignation  at  the  conduct  of  the  British  government,  seemed  absolutely  mad. 
He  breathed  nothing  but  war,  and  was  content  to  run  into  it  at  the  hazard  of  our 
finances  and  even  of  our  Constitution.  Such  sentiments  arise  in  him  only  for  the 
moment  and  would  not  certainly  influence  his  conduct ;  but  such  language,  if  held 
to  those  who  should  repeat  it,  must  do  mischief  here.  I  tell  him,  when  he  asserts 
that  the  administration  of  this  country  means  ill  to  us,  that  I  think  they  only  mean 
good  to  themselves,  excepting  always  only  two  or  three  men  who  are  personally 
vexed  at  our  prosperity."  Diary  and  Letters  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  II.  157.  Adams 
records  in  his  Diary  (Ms.)  the  same  day:  "Conversation  with  Mr.  Morris.  Do 
not  at  all  concur  in  his  opinions.  Think  him  more  decidedly  English  the  more  I 
see  of  him." 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  479 

where  becoming  more  and  more  convinced  that  the  struggle 
which  they  are  still  obliged  to  maintain,  although  its  original 
object  has  completely  failed  on  both  sides,  can  only  be  de 
structive  to  them,  and  they  would  gladly  bury  in  oblivion 
the  abstracted  madness  which  created  such  a  fanatical  agi 
tation  of  their  brains  about  three  years  ago.  But  in  all  the 
governments  of  Europe  new  and  old  the  people  are  considered 
as  an  instrument,  not  as  the  object,  of  political  calculations. 
Their  interests,  their  feelings,  and  their  wishes  are  not  the 
ultimate  point  of  contemplation,  but  only  a  power  over  which 
the  control  of  the  superintendent  is  more  or  less  efficacious 
according  to  the  progress  of  events.  The  ruling  powers 
therefore  here  and  in  France,  finding  the  spirits  of  their 
combatants  much  exhausted,  encourage  them  with  hopes  of 
peace,  and  at  the  same  time  are  taking  infinite  pains  to  con 
tinue  the  war,  and  to  shift  each  upon  the  other  the  odium  of 
that  continuance. 

At  the  opening  of  the  present  session  of  Parliament  the 
royal  speech  prepared  the  way  for  a  sort  of  acknowledg 
ment  of  the  new  French  government,  without  which  no  pre 
tence  of  negotiation  could  have  been  raised  and  supported.1 
Soon  after  a  message  from  the  king  formally  declared  that 
he  would  meet  any  disposition  to  negotiate  on  the  part  of 
France.2  Upon  a  debate  which  recently  took  place  Mr. 
Pitt  declared  that  measures  were  taking  which  might  lead 
to  a  negotiation,  and  even  at  this  day  reports  of  actually 
pending  arrangements  are  industriously  circulated  and  kept 
up  by  the  ministerial  influence.  On  the  other  hand  a  mes 
sage  from  the  Executive  Directory  of  France  to  the  Legis 
lative  body  some  time  since  expressly  said  that  the  enemies, 
or  rather  that  enemies,  of  France  had  spoken  of  peace,  and 

1  Speech  from  the  Throne,  October  29,  1795,  in  Annual  Register,  1795,  138. 

2  Message  from  the  King,  December  8,  1795.     Ibid.,  140. 


48o  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1796 


the  same  message  professed  a  very  cordial  desire  to  terminate 
the  war.1 

All  this  on  both  sides  appears  to  be  mere  profession  with 
out  sincerity.  If  the  parties  were  really  inclined  to  peace, 
their  pretensions  as  to  the  conditions  of  it  are  too  widely 
distant  for  them  to  meet  without  a  further  struggle.  But 
the  governments  both  of  France  and  Britain  dread  the  con 
sequences  of  peace  themselves.  The  armies  of  France  are 
such  formidable  and  unwieldy  machines  that  the  persons 
in  power  are  very  unwilling  to  take  them  from  that  employ 
ment  which  removes  their  attention  from  home ;  while  in 
this  country  the  monarchy  and  aristocracy  view  in  horror 
the  prospect  of  a  Republican  establishment  so  near  to  them 
selves. 

The  last  pamphlet  of  Burke,  which  I  lately  sent  you,  dis 
covers  this  temper  in  its  natural  colors,  and  another,  pro 
fessedly  written  upon  the  subject  and  entitled  "Thoughts 
upon  the  Prospect  of  a  Regicide  Peace,"  is  announced  for 
publication  within  a  short  period.  Their  object  is  probably 
to  make  a  further  experiment  at  fanaticizing  the  public 
mind,  or  at  least  to  revive  the  flame  which  has  long  been 
drooping,  and  of  late  has  been  ready  to  expire.  It  is  con 
tending  yet  for  ground  which  the  ministers  no  longer  dare 
openly  to  avow,  but  which  their  ostensible  declarations 
rather  disclaim. 

Your  ever  affectionate  and  grateful  son. 

1  In  April  the  English  government  printed  letters  which  had  passed  between 
William  Wickham,  English  charge  d'affaires  in  Switzerland,  and  Barthelemi,  in 
which  the  latter  rejected  the  suggestion  of  a  congress  for  a  general  pacification. 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  481 

TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

LONDON,  April  4,  1796. 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

I  have  some  reason  to  suppose  that  the  anti-neutral  views 
of  the  French  government  extend  even  to  Hamburg  and 
Bremen,  but  their  principal  object  will  be  the  United  States. 
They  are  undoubtedly  dissatisfied  with  the  treaty  between 
us  and  Great  Britain.  This  dissatisfaction  does  not  how 
ever  proceed  from  themselves.  It  has  been  inspired  by 
Americans  at  Paris,  who  foster  and  encourage  it  with  all 
possible  industry,  and  with  ability  profoundly  systematic.1 
From  them  (though  I  will  not  affirm  by  them)  the  French 
government  are  led  to  believe,  that  this  treaty  will  finally 
throw  the  United  States  a  corps  perdu  into  the  arms  of  Brit 
ain,  that  we  shall  soon  be  totally  lost  to  France,  and  that 
unless  the  treaty  can  be  overturned  France  must  consider 
us  henceforth  as  an  infallible  ally  of  Britain  against  her. 
With  such  a  doctrine,  coming  from  a  source  which  they 
naturally  consider  as  respectable,  inculcated  and  corroborated 
by  the  personal  talents  of  a  man  like  Hichborn,2  and  counter- 

1  "You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the  only  Americans  whom  I  found  here 
were  a  set  of  New  Englandmen  connected  with  Britain  and  who,  upon  British  capi 
tal,  were  trading  to  this  country :   that  they  are  hostile  to  the  French  revolution  is 
what  you  well  know :    but  that  they  should  be  thriving  upon  the  credit  which  the 
efforts  of  others  in  other  quarters  gain  the  American  name  here,  you  could  not  expect : 
that  as  such  they  should  be  in  possession  of  the  little  confidence  we  had  and  give 
a  tone  to  characters  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic  was  still  less  to  be  expected.     But 
such  was  the  fact."     Monroe  to  Madison,  June  30,  1795.     Writings  of  James  Monrof, 
II.  313.     "All  the  Americans  recognized  by  Mr.  Monroe  were  allowed  to  remain 
there  [Paris],  notwithstanding  the  late  decree."     John  Quincy  Adams  to  Joshua 
Johnson,  June  2,  1796.     Ms. 

2  Benjamin  Hichborn,  described  by  Monroe  as  "an  American  gentleman  of  char 
acter  here  (from  Massachusetts),"  gave  Monroe  his  first  knowledge  of  the  contents 
of  the  Jay  treaty,  having  been  made  acquainted  with  them  by  John  Trumbull. 
Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II.  243. 

21 


482  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

acted  by  no  one  American  in  France,  it  may  well  be  sup 
posed  that  they  have  taken  an  alarm  against  a  treaty  which, 
but  for  these  incitements,  they  would  have  seen  with  per 
fect  indifference.  Whether  the  late  Minister  Adet  has 
been  an  obstacle  to  the  furtherance  of  these  views  I  know 
not,  but  probably  it  may  be  known  to  our  government. 
The  principal  reason  I  have  to  think  he  did  not  suit  them  is, 
that  they  have  never  used  the  common  artifices  of  party 
blazoning  to  give  him  weight.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he  is  re 
called,1  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Vincent 2  is  to  go  out  in 
his  stead.  It  is  reported  with  that  sort  of  mystery  which 
intends  to  spread  a  secret,  that  he  is  to  speak  a  very  high 
language  to  our  government,  and  it  seems  even  to  be  in 
sinuated  that  a  clue  is  given  him  to  demand  a  right  which 
it  is  supposed  will  bring  the  British  treaty  to  the  test  of 
execution.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Thomas  Paine,  who  lives 
as  an  inmate  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Monroe,  is  writing  one  of 
his  efficacious  pamphlets  upon  the  subject,  and  this,  his  oc 
cupation,  is  announced  with  much  importance,  to  prepare 
public  expectation  for  the  appearance  of  the  production.3 
To  all  these  manoeuvres  there  will  undoubtedly  be  others 
correspondent  in  America.  At  the  present  stage  of  things 

1  On  February  15,  Monroe  was  informed  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  that 
the  Directory  considered  the  alliance  between  France  and  the  United  States  to  have 
ceased  to  exist  from  the  moment  the  Jay  treaty  was  ratified,  and  they  would  send 
a  special  envoy  to  make  such  a  representation  to  the  American  government ;   that 
Adet  had  asked  and  obtained  his  recall.     Monroe  expressed  astonishment  and 
concern,  protesting  against  the  policy  and  even  the  safety  of  such  a  step ;  and  while 
he  believed  he  had  succeeded  in  toning  down  the  anger  of  the  government,  and  in 
leading  to  less  stringent  measures,  the  sense  of  injury  remained.     Adet  remained  in 
office  until  November  15,  and  in  the  country  until  the  spring  of  1797,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  influencing  the  election  of  1796.     As  marking  the  displeasure  of  the  French 
government  no  successor  was  nominated. 

2  Probably  Pierre-Charles-Victor  Vincent  (1749-1817). 

3  See  Writings  of  James  Monroe,  II.  440. 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  483 

I  know  not  upon  what  the  hopes  of  the  party  rest,  but  I  think 
it  must  be  upon  the  refusal  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
to  pass  the  laws  necessary  for  the  execution  of  the  treaty. 
Randolph,  who  is  no  longer  a  body  devoid  of  weight  dragged 
along  by  the  current  of  events ;  Randolph,  who  has  been  at 
length  compelled  to  decide  on  his  party  and,  as  it  should  seem, 
even  without  receiving  the  purchase  money  for  his  duty; 
Randolph,  of  whom  the  party  are  now  ashamed,  but  who 
hopes  to  retrieve  in  their  eyes  his  changeable  errors  by  his 
present  devotion,  has  formally  taken  this  ground  in  their 
behalf,  and  they  will  doubtless  adhere  to  it  as  long  as  it 
shall  be  tenable.  If  the  question  should  be  brought  for 
ward  during  the  present  session  of  Congress,  the  operations 
which  I  have  mentioned  above  will  not  have  time  to  pro 
duce  their  effect.  They  will  therefore  endeavor  to  pass 
this  session  without  coming  to  the  trial,  and  reserve  all 
their  engines  to  play  upon  the  next. 

If  in  conformity  to  the  treaty,  the  Western  posts  should  be 
delivered  up  on  the  first  of  June,  I  think  that  all  these  plans, 
deeply  concerted  and  ably  conducted  as  they  are,  will 
fail.  The  treaty  will  be  fully  carried  into  effect,  and  with 
out  making  us  the  allies  of  Britain  or  the  enemies  of  France 
it  will  preserve  our  peace  for  the  present  with  both.  But 
will  the  posts  be  delivered  ?  I  hope  they  will,  though  I 
have  little  confidence  in  the  dispositions  of  this  government, 
and  as  little  in  any  exertions  here  to  procure  the  delivery,  if 
it  should  in  any  manner  depend  upon  anything  to  be  done 
or  said  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  French  government  have  perhaps  been  more  readily 
induced  to  adopt  fears  and  resentments  against  the  treaty, 
from  an  idea  that  at  present  its  defeat  must  be  followed  by 
a  war  between  us  and  Britain,  a  war  upon  their  favorite 
system,  which  should  leave  them  at  liberty  to  make  their 


484  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

peace  without  binding  them  to  a  common  cause.  They  are 
now  better  prepared  for  this  system  of  policy  than  they  were 
the  last  year,  for  their  provisions  are  in  tolerable  abundance, 
and  they  do  not  depend  upon  our  neutrality  for  subsistence. 
They  are  therefore  perhaps  more  strenuously  inclined  to 
provoke  us  against  Britain,  and  to  enforce  the  views  of  the 
party  in  America  who  hope  for  war,  because  they  think  it 
would  prove  the  destruction  of  what  Fauchet  calls  the 
treasurer's  plans. 

There  may  possibly  be  another  object  connected  with 
that  of  stimulating  a  rupture  with  Britain,  the  success  of 
which  may  be  considered  as  important  towards  that  purpose. 
The  Presidential  elections  are  to  take  place  in  the  course 
of  the  present  year.  The  experiment  of  an  attack  upon  the 
popularity  of  the  President  was  made  the  last  autumn  and 
winter.  It  was  indeed  altogether  unsuccessful,  but  it  pre 
pared  the  way  for  the  repetition  of  an  assault,  whenever  the 
circumstances  should  be  favorable  to  the  purpose.  The 
party  are  inveterate  against  the  President,  because  they  now 
think  him  pledged  in  opposition  to  their  views,  and  their 
object  has  therefore  been  to  impress  the  French  rulers  with 
an  opinion  that  he  is  inimical  to  their  cause.  This  design 
has  not  been  entirely  unsuccessful.  Fauchet's  certificate 
openly  avows  the  idea,  and  if  the  accounts  I  have  heard  from 
France  are  true,  the  style  of  American  conduct  and  conver 
sation  at  Paris  is  by  no  means  calculated  to  remove  the  im 
pression.  That  the  impression  exists  among  the  mem 
bers  of  the  French  government  Mr.  Pinckney  since  his 
return  here  assures  me  to  be  the  case ;  nor  is  it  difficult, 
since  Randolph's  pamphlet  has  been  published,  to  trace 
the  origin  of  the  prejudice  and  some  of  the  motives  on  which 
it  is  founded. 

One  of  the  great  negotiators  under  Lewis  the  I4th,  the 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  485 

Comte  d'Avaux,1  lays  it  down  as  a  fundamental  rule,  that 
the  only  successful  mode  of  treating  with  the  Dutch  Republic 
is  by  a  constant  and  unremitting  excitement  of  fear  in  the 
minds  of  the  ruling  men.  This  maxim  is  not  laid  down  in 
Mably's  2  principles  of  negotiation,  but  its  application  ap 
pears  to  have  survived  the  French  monarchy,  and  to  be 
transferred  beyond  the  Atlantic.  It  may  be  remembered 
how  Genet  in  all  his  newspaper  controversies  perpetually 
threatened  us  with  the  vengeance  of  his  Republic,  and  how 
faithfully  his  subalterns  echoed  his  terrific  strains.  Since 
his  time  the  French  Ministers  have  been  more  guarded  in 
their  menaces,  but  the  party  have  been  very  indulgent  to 
wield  the  same  weapon  for  them.  Thus  Mr.  Randolph  not 
only  talks  now  of  the  "crisis  which  he  fears  may  disturb  our 
harmony  with  France"  but  even  in  August,  1794,  could 
speak  of  "  the  hazard  of  mortally  offending  the  French"  How  ? 
Why,  "by  the  punctilious  observance  of  neutrality"  Thus 
many  a  letter  from  France  has  been  written  for  the  American 
public  to  raise  an  opinion  of  French  resentment  against  the 
treaty,  when  nothing  but  the  desire  to  stimulate  that  resent 
ment  existed.  Thus  we  are  in  future  to  be  told  that  France 
will  defeat  our  treaty  with  Algiers,  that  she  will  shut  us  out 
from  a  participation  of  her  commerce,  perhaps  even  that  she 
is  at  the  point  of  declaring  war  against  us.  All  these  things 
are  bottomed  upon  the  principle  of  d'Avaux,  and  perhaps 
others,  which  may  be  supposed  to  contain  powers  of  per 
sonal  operation  upon  the  feelings  of  our  first  magistrate,  will 
continue  to  be  employed,  however  discouraging  the  ill  success 
of  the  former  attempts  may  have  been. 

On  one  hand  therefore  he  will  be  courted  by  the  prospect 
of  every  support  from  the  party,  and  on  the  other  that  of  an 

1  Jean-Antoine  de  Mesmes,  Comte  d'Avaux  (1640-1709). 

2  Gabriel  Bonnot  de  Mably  (1709-1785). 


486  THE   WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

opposition  at  least  against  the  unanimity  which  marked  the 
two  preceding  elections,  will  be  suffered  to  be  seen,  under 
an  expectation  that  it  will  have  its  influence  in  conciliating 
the  sentiments  of  the  person  to  the  measures  of  the  party. 
If  this  should  not  succeed,  the  attack  of  the  last  season  will 
be  renewed  with  redoubled  impetuosity,  and  if  they  cannot 
hope  to  turn  the  balance  of  election  they  flatter  themselves 
that  at  least  they  can  induce  retirement  or  resignation  from 
the  disgust  of  ill  treatment.  Such  it  seems  according  to 
Fauchet's  letter  was  the  policy  upon  which  the  persecution 
against  Mr.  Hamilton  was  conducted,  and  they  will  have 
double  reasons  for  pursuing  it  in  this  instance. 

The  removal  of  the  President,  however  effected  in  the 
tactics  of  the  combined  French  and  party  powers,  is  to  be 
followed  by  a  plan  for  introducing  into  the  American  Con 
stitution  a  Directory  instead  of  a  President,  and  for  taking 
from  the  supreme  Executive  the  command  of  the  armed 
force.  This  hopeful  project  has  been  intimated  to  you  in  a 
former  letter.  How  far  it  has  been  shaped  and  organized 
I  know  not;  whether  the  course  of  events  will  prevent  its 
advancement  as  a  practical  measure  I  shall  not  pretend  to 
say ;  but  of  the  design  to  bring  it  forward  at  the  first  favor 
able  moment  I  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 

The  great  error  of  the  party  in  America  has  uniformly  been 
to  grasp  at  too  much,  to  place  too  great  a  dependence  upon 
the  efficacy  of  their  exertions,  and  to  calculate  upon  a 
popular  temper  much  more  favorable  to  their  views  than 
the  fact  has  ever  proved.  Notwithstanding  all  their  ex 
perience  I  think  they  are  repeating  the  same  mistake,  and 
I  consider  this  as  one  of  the  indications  that  they  will  even 
tually  fail  in  their  present  as  they  have  heretofore  done  in 
their  former  objects.  They  now  build  their  principal  hopes 
upon  the  non-delivery  of  the  forts,  and  there  is  no  circum- 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  487 

stance  that  would  so  much  confound  and  mortify  them  as  a 
faithful  execution  of  the  treaty  by  the  British  in  that  article. 
This  circumstance  is  so  obvious,  that  it  might  be  urged  with 
great  force  as  an  inducement  to  decide  this  government  if 
they  were  wavering  on  the  point.  The  mode  of  introducing 
the  argument  would  indeed  be  a  delicate  point,  but  I  am  sure 
it  would  have  weight.  Perhaps  it  has  been  or  will  be  urged. 

They  take  for  granted  that  there  will  be  no  delivery.  This 
they  presume  will  of  course  produce  a  refusal  on  our  part  to 
carry  the  treaty  into  execution,  the  result  of  which  will  be 
a  decisive  rupture  between  us  and  Britain,  and  a  consequent 
triumph  of  French  party,  French  principles,  and  French 
influence  in  the  United  States. 

It  is,  however,  now  so  late  in  the  season  that  the  present 
year  may  be  considered  as  secured,  and  by  the  close  of  this 
campaign  it  appears  probable  that  even  France  and  Britain 
will  be  prepared  for  serious  negotiation.  The  increasing 
clamors  for  peace  on  both  sides  of  the  channel  will  perhaps 
compel  the  two  governments  to  meet  upon  some  composi 
tion  of  terms,  and  in  that  case  neither  France,  nor  her  humble 
adorers  in  America,  will  be  so  strenuous  to  provoke  the 
quarrel,  as  they  have  been  hitherto,  and  still  are. 

Against  the  maritime  supremacy  of  this  country,  the 
French  government  will  indeed  have  a  permanent  motive  to 
unite  her  own  powers  with  others ;  nor  do  I  think  it  an  ob 
ject  to  be  neglected  by  any  of  the  powers  to  whom  the  liberty 
of  commerce  and  navigation  is  interesting.  The  principles 
of  the  armed  neutrality,  which  have  been  so  long  dispersed 
by  the  hurricane  of  the  revolutionary  contest,  may  again 
be  collected  as  the  storm  subsides,  and  at  this  day  all  the 
governments  which  acceded  to  that  system  originally,  are 
doubtless  again  convinced  of  its  importance,  with  the  ex 
ception  only  of  Russia.  It  will  indeed  after  the  termination 


488  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

of  the  present  war  be  more  important  than  ever,  because  the 
naval  preponderance  of  Britain  will  then  be  greater  than  it 
has  been  at  any  former  period.  If,  therefore,  independent 
of  the  present  contest,  a  plan  should  be  proposed  for  con 
certing  the  means  to  check  the  spirit  of  domination  upon 
the  sea,  which  Britain  has  so  long  avowed,  and  which  be 
comes  formidable  in  proportion  as  her  comparative  strength 
augments,  the  government  will  without  doubt  give  it  all 
the  consideration  that  may  be  proper.  .  .  . 

COMMISSION  TO  PORTUGAL 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 
To  John  Quincy  Adams  —  Greeting 

Reposing  especial  Trust  and  Confidence  in  your  Integrity, 
Prudence  and  Ability,  I  have  nominated  and  by  and  with  the  ad 
vice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  do  appoint  you  the  said  John  Quincy 
Adams,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  the  United  States  of  America 
at  the  Court  of  her  most  Faithful  Majesty,  authorizing  you  hereby 
to  do  and  perform  all  such  matters  and  Things  as  to  the  said  Place 
of  Office  doth  appertain,  or  as  may  be  duly  given  you  in  charge 
hereafter,  and  the  said  office  to  hold  and  exercise  during  the  pleas 
ure  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  the  time  being.  IN 
TESTIMONY  whereof  I  have  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States 
to  be  hereunto  affixed.  Given  under  my  hand  at  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  the  Thirtieth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-six,  and  of  the  Independ 
ence  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  twentieth. 

GEO.  WASHINGTON. 
By  the  President  of  the  United  States, 

(SEAL)  TIMOTHY  PICKERING,   Secretary  of  State.1 

1  It  is  not  thought  necessary  to  print  the  instructions  issued  for  his  conduct  in 
Portugal,  for  he  never  entered  upon  this  mission.  They  concerned  the  trade  in 
American  flour  and  the  commercial  regulations  applied  in  Portugal  and  her  colonial 
possessions  in  America. 


i796]  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS  489 

TO  THE   SECRETARY  OF   STATE 
[TIMOTHY  PICKERING] 

THE  HAGUE,  June  4,   1796. 

If  the  war  by  land  be  thus  brought  to  a  close,  the  whole 
force  and  attention  of  the  French  government  will  of  course 
be  turned  towards  the  means  of  balancing  the  British  naval 
force,  and  of  assaulting  the  remaining  antagonist  in  her  only 
vulnerable  part.  For  this  purpose  measures  will  perhaps 
be  pursued  to  raise  other  maritime  enemies  against  Great 
Britain.  In  Europe,  the  Italian  States,  Spain,  Denmark, 
Sweden  and  even  Hamburg  and  Bremen  may  be  stimulated, 
in  various  manners  to  shut  the  Baltic  and  the  Mediterranean 
against  the  British  commerce,  and  it  will  best  be  known  to 
you,  Sir,  whether  inducements  of  a  similar  nature  will  be 
presented  to  the  United  States.  I  have  understood  that  it 
was  not  long  since  in  the  contemplation  of  the  Directory,  to 
send  out  an  envoy  extraordinary  with  a  special  mission  to 
America,  but  that  this  intention  has  since  been  laid  aside. 

Upon  my  arrival  here,  I  found  an  administration  differ 
ently  organized  from  that  to  which  I  was  accredited,  and 
even  from  that  which  I  had  left  here  the  last  autumn.  The 
supreme  authority  of  the  republic  is  now  held  by  a  National 
Assembly,  and  the  States  General  have  been  formally  dis 
solved.  .  .  . 

The  president  of  the  National  Assembly  for  the  time  being 
is,  under  the  present  arrangements,  ex  officio,  president  of 
the  Diplomatic  Committee.1  I  visited  him  of  course  im 
mediately  after  my  return.  He  announced  the  circumstance 
to  the  Assembly,  who  thereupon  directed  their  agent 

1  Vos  van  Steenwyk. 


490  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

[Slicher]  to  compliment  me  in  their  name  upon  my  arrival, 
with  the  most  cordial  assurances  of  their  regard  and  friend 
ship  for  the  United  States,  which  he  accordingly  did  yes 
terday.  .  .  .* 


TO  JOHN  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  June  6,  1796. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

At  length  I  have  been  released  from  a  situation  equally 
remote  from  all  public  utility  and  all  personal  satisfaction. 
After  a  detention  which  I  could  not  avoid,  but  which  was  at 
least  unnecessary,  of  several  months,  I  left  London  on  the 
28th  of  last  month,  and  arrived  here  on  the  3ist.  The 
people  there  were  in  the  midst  of  the  Saturnalian  election 
eering  holidays.  The  writs  issued  for  the  new  Parliament 
are  made  returnable  on  the  I2th  of  July.  The  changes  will 
not  be  numerous,  and  the  majorities  of  the  Minister  will  be 
as  great  as  they  have  been  hitherto.  Such  at  least  was  the 
general  opinion,  which  was  confirmed  by  the  elections  that 
had  been  made  previous  to  my  departure. 

't  1  "Within  three  weeks  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  the  person  who 
was  mentioned  to  you  as  having  united  almost  every  vote  as  their  president,  and  who 
has  frequently  been  noticed  in  my  former  letters,  Mr.  Paulus,  died.  The  loss  of  a 
man  whose  talents  and  activity  had  been  so  peculiarly  conspicuous  from  the  com 
mencement  of  the  recent  revolution,  has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be  felt  severely 
by  the  patriots  of  the  nation.  In  the  accomplishment  of  the  alliance  with  France, 
and  of  a  national  convocation  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  republic,  he  had  been 
essentially  instrumental,  and  his  exertions  had  succeeded  at  least  far  beyond  the 
common  expectation  in  reanimating  the  maritime  power  of  the  country.  The  ob 
jects  to  which  he  directed  the  application  of  his  efforts,  were  those  upon  which  the 
national  system  of  policy  depends,  and  his  abilities  were  the  more  serviceable  as 
they  are  much  more  rarely  met  with  than  those  which  are  engrossed  by  a  contracted 
spirit  of  detail."  To  Secretary  of  Statt,  June  u,  1796.  Ms. 


i70]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  491 

The  account  of  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Represent 
atives  of  the  United  States  relative  to  the  British  treaty, 
passed  on  the  I7th  of  April,  had  arrived  a  few  days  before 
I  came  away.  It  was  brought  by  the  Arab,  a  sloop  of  war 
dispatched  from  New  York  expressly  for  the  purpose,  and 
which  had  a  passage  of  only  twenty-three  days.  The  reso 
lution  was  considered  as  the  natural  precursor  of  a  final  de 
cision  not  to  pass  the  laws  necessary  to  carry  the  treaty  into 
effect  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  sensation 
which  the  intelligence  produced  was  even  greater  than  I 
should  have  expected.  I  confess  it  made  me  doubly  desir 
ous  to  quit  a  country,  where  the  malevolence  that  is  so  com 
mon  against  America  was  exulting  in  the  triumph  with 
which  it  pointed  to  the  event,  as  a  proof  of  our  executive 
imbecility,  or  of  our  legislative  perfidy.  It  was  difficult  to 
refute  both  the  alternatives,  and  I  retired  with  pleasure 
from  the  humiliating  task  of  palliating  what  I  felt  myself 
altogether  incapable  to  justify. 

To  all  the  Americans  in  England  that  I  met  with  after  the 
news  of  this  resolution,  it  was  quite  unexpected,  as  their 
accounts  from  home  had  uniformly  led  them  to  the  hope  or 
fear  of  a  different  event.  But  I  cannot  say  the  case  was 
thus  with  me,  and  in  my  letter  of  April  4,  which  I  hope  has 
reached  you  before  this,  you  will  find  at  full  length  the 
opinion  that  I  then  held  upon  the  subject.  As  a  party  ma 
noeuvre  the  proceedings  to  which  the  House  have  given  their 
sanction  was  well  conducted,  and  indeed  it  would  be  blind 
ness  not  to  perceive  that  the  operations  of  that  party  are 
conducted  with  a  skill,  and  perseverance,  and  harmony,  and 
consistency,  which  the  friends  of  the  government  seldom 
discover.  That  all  the  weight  of  French  influence  was  ex 
erted  on  that  occasion  is  unquestionable.  The  delivery  of 
the  forts  was  a  thing  too  much  dreaded  by  them,  to  be  suf- 


492  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

fered  without  a  struggle.  That  event  would  have  been  the 
death  blow  to  all  their  hopes  of  engaging  the  United  States 
in  the  war,  and  they  well  knew  it  was  inevitable,  if  the  treaty 
did  not  first  meet  with  non-compliance  on  our  part.  Under 
the  present  circumstances  the  forts  will  assuredly  not  be 
delivered,  and  the  party  who  have  succeeded  in  preventing 
it,  will  make  them  again  the  watchword  of  their  war-whoop. 
You  may  depend  upon  it  as  a  certain  fact,  that  the  French 
policy  of  the  present  day  is  determined  upon  involving  us 
yet  in  the  war.  From  the  complexion  of  the  present  House 
of  Representatives  I  have  strong  apprehensions  that  they 
will  succeed ;  if  they  do,  we  shall  not  be  found  despicable 
enemies.  But  what  will  become  of  our  national  government  ? 
What  will  become  of  our  federal  union  ?  I  am  unwilling 
to  look  the  prospect  in  the  face. 

If  the  late  proceedings  of  the  House  were  to  be  considered 
merely  as  the  flashes  of  anger  and  resentment  against  the 
British  government,  whatever  my  opinion  of  their  wisdom 
might  be,  I  should  concur  with  my  whole  soul  in  the  motives, 
and  should  have  comparatively  but  trifling  apprehensions 
of  the  consequences.  But  the  wound  is  evidently  deeper, 
the  symptoms  indicate  an  infallible  struggle  between  the 
popular  and  executive  branches  of  our  government.  In 
such  a  struggle  what  will  become  of  the  executive  ?  Espe 
cially  if  it  should  get  encumbered  with  such  a  distressing 
war  as  they  are  endeavoring  to  excite.  In  my  opinion  it 
must  inevitably  fall. 

The  system  of  French  government  in  America  is  not 
changed  as  far  as  I  can  discover.  But  an  alteration  of 
measures  has  certainly  taken  place.  The  bullying  embassy 
which  I  mentioned  in  my  N.  19  as  being  in  contemplation 
is  now  said  to  be  laid  aside,  and  even  Mr.  Paine's  threatened 
pamphlet  has  not  yet  appeared.  He  has  only  published  a 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  493 

piece  upon  the  English  finances,1  which  I  sent  you  from  Lon 
don,  and  which  in  his  own  opinion  amply  revenges  all  the 
injuries  and  insults  which  the  United  States  and  France 
have  received  from  Great  Britain  for  the  last  four  years. 
What  the  present  views  of  the  American  representation  in 
France  are  I  am  unable  to  say,  but  the  final  object  of  the 
French  system  is  still  to  involve  us  in  war  and  to  new  model 
our  executive.  .  .  . 

TO  CHARLES  ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  June  9,  1796. 

That  a  dissolution  of  the  union  would  be  the  consequence 
of  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  I  think  very  probable ;  but  the 
dissolution  of  the  union  is  perhaps  rather  a  subject  of  hope 
than  of  fear,  to  those  who  are  hurrying  the  nation  to  its 
disgrace  and  calamity.  If  there  be  a  Frenchman  who  gov 
erns  and  conducts  the  party  that  now  commands  a  majority, 
you  may  rest  assured  that  neither  he,  nor  those  from  whom 
he  receives  his  impulse,  have  dispositions  at  all  favorable  to 
the  American  union. 

My  sentiments,  I  confess,  are  widely  different.  All  my 
hopes  of  national  felicity  and  glory  have  invariably  been 
founded  upon  the  continuance  of  the  union.  I  have  cher 
ished  these  hopes  with  so  much  fondness,  they  have  so  long 
been  incorporated  into  my  ideas  of  public  concern,  that  I 
cannot  abandon  them  without  a  pang,  as  keen  as  that  of  a 
dissolving  soul  and  body.  Much  as  I  must  disapprove  of  the 
general  tenor  of  southern  politics  I  would  rather  even  yield 
to  their  unreasonable  pretensions  and  suffer  much  for  their 

1  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  English  System  of  Finance.  It  ran  through  twelve  edi 
tions  in  England  in  1796,  was  issued  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  in  Paris 
(translated  by  F.  Lanthenas)  in  the  same  year. 


494  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

wrongs,  than  break  the  chain  that  binds  us  together.1  For 
there  is  no  one  article  of  my  political  creed  more  clearly 
demonstrated  to  my  mind  than  this,  that  we  shall  proceed 
with  gigantic  strides  to  honor  and  consideration,  and  na 
tional  greatness,  if  the  union  is  preserved ;  but  that  if  it  is 
once  broken,  we  shall  soon  divide  into  a  parcel  of  petty 
tribes  at  perpetual  war  with  one  another,  swayed  by  rival 
European  powers,  whose  policy  will  agree  perfectly  in  the 
system  of  keeping  us  at  variance  with  one  another,  and  who 
will  at  the  same  time  govern  and  despise  the  party  they  may 
respectively  protect. 


FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OF   STATE 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  June  n,  1796. 
SIR: 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  the  President  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  has  ap 
pointed  you  their  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Portugal ;  Col. 
Humphreys  having  at  the  same  time  been  appointed  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  to  Spain.2  But  the  negotiations  with  the  Bar- 
bary  Powers,  which  were  committed  to  Colo.  Humphreys,  un 
fortunately  continue  incomplete  :  there  is  indeed  not  a  little  danger 
that  the  peace  concluded  with  Algiers  may,  by  some  untoward 
events,  be  defeated.  This  circumstance,  together  with  the  fact 
that  no  minister  is  yet  appointed  to  succeed  you  in  Holland,  where 
for  several  reasons,  it  seemed  important  we  should  have  one,  deter 
mined  the  President  to  postpone  the  transfer  of  your  services  from 
the  Hague  to  Lisbon.  You  will  therefore  continue  to  exercise  your 

1  Among  the  possible  plans  for  his  own  future,  he  considered  a  settlement  in  one 
of  the  Southern  States. 

2  David  Humphreys  was  Minister  Resident  at  Lisbon  from  February  21,  1791, 
to  November  30,  1794.     On  May  20,  1796,  he  had  been  appointed  Minister  Pleni 
potentiary  to  Spain,  and  held  that  appointment  until  November,  1801. 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  495 

functions  as  Minister  Resident  at  the  Hague,  until  a  change  of 
circumstances  shall  render  it  expedient  for  you  to  proceed  to 
Lisbon.  This  expected  change  may  probably  admit  of  your  re 
moval  early  in  the  autumn,  of  which  however  you  will  be  duly 
advised.  In  the  mean  time  you  will  consider  the  new  appoint 
ment,  what  it  is  in  reality,  a  decided  proof  of  the  President's  high 
opinion  of  your  talents,  integrity  and  worth. 

I  am  very  respectfully,  etc. 

TIMOTHY  PICKERING. l 

1  The  date  of  Adams'  appointment  was  May  30,  1796.  This  letter  reached  him 
August  6,  and  he  replied  :  "  As  a  proof  of  the  President's  approbation  of  my  conduct 
since  I  have  been  in  the  public  service  of  the  United  States,  and  the  good  opinion  he 
entertains  of  my  intentions,  it  has  deeply  affected  my  sensibility."  To  the  Secretary 
of  State,  August  7,  1796.  The  commission,  letter  of  credence,  and  instructions  were 
not  sent  until  February  17,  1797. 

Abigail  Adams  wrote,  August  10,  1796,  that  this  appointment  "was  the  last 
nomination  which  the  President  made  before  the  rising  of  Congress,  and  took  place 
after  your  father  came  home  [to  Quincy],  without  its  ever  being  hinted  to  him.  The 
appointment  was  agreed  to,  as  Mr.  Otis  informs  me,  unanimously  by  the  Senate." 
Ms. 

"The  appointment  to  the  mission  of  Portugal  I  find  from  your  letter  was  as  I 
had  before  concluded  unknown  to  my  father.  I  have  already  written  you  upon  the 
subject,  and  I  hope,  my  ever  dear  and  honored  mother,  that  you  are  fully  convinced 
from  my  letters  which  you  have  before  this  received,  that  upon  the  contingency  of 
my  father's  being  placed  in  the  first  magistracy,  /  shall  never  give  him  any  trouble 
by  solicitation  for  office  of  any  kind.  Your  late  letters  have  repeated  so  many  times 
that  I  shall  in  that  case  have  nothing  to  expect  that  I  am  afraid  you  have  imagined 
it  possible  that  I  might  form  expectations  from  such  an  event.  I  had  hoped  that 
my  mother  knew  me  better;  that  she  did  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  I  have  not  been 
so  totally  regardless  or  forgetful  of  the  principles  which  my  education  has  instilled, 
nor  so  totally  destitute  of  a  personal  sense  of  delicacy  as  to  be  susceptible  of  a  wish 
tending  in  that  direction.  I  have  indeed  long  known  that  my  father  is  far  more 
ambitious  for  my  advancement,  far  more  solicitous  for  the  extension  of  my  fame, 
than  I  ever  have  been,  or  ever  shall  be  myself;  but  I  have  hitherto  had  the  satis 
faction  to  observe  that  the  notice  with  which  my  country  and  its  government  have 
honored  me,  and  the  confidences  which  they  have  been  pleased  repeatedly  to  repose 
in  me,  have  been  without  the  smallest  agency  of  my  father,  other  than  the  recom 
mendation  which  his  services  carried  with  them."  To  Abigail  Adams,  November 
14,  1796.  Ms. 


496  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

TO  MADAME  DE  LA  FAYETTE 

LA  HAYE,  Juin  15,   1796. 

MADAME  : 

La  lettre  que  vous  m'avez  fait  1'honneur  de  m'ecrire,  me 
fut  remise  par  Monsieur  de  Lally  a  Londres,  dans  un  moment 
ou,Mr.  Pinckneyetant  deja  de  retour  a  sa  residence,  jen'avais 
aucune  relation  quelconque  avec  le  Ministre  Britannique. 

II  m'eut  ete  certainement  tres  precieux  de  pouvoir  etre  de 
quelque  utilite  a  vous  et  a  M.  de  la  Fayette.  Les  bontes 
personnelles  et  les  services  signales  qu'il  a  rendu  a  ma  patrie, 
lui  ont  donne  les  plus  grands  droits  a  ma  reconnaissance  et  a 
mon  attachment.  Ces  sentiments,  qui  me  sont  communs 
avec  tous  les  Americains,  sont  encore  fortifies  par  ceux  de 
1'ancienne  amitie  pour  lui  dont  tout  ma  famille  s'honore. 
Ce  fut  done  avec  le  regret  le  plus  sensible  que  je  me  trouvai, 
lorsque  je  recus  votre  lettre,  dans  1'impossibilite  de  faire  la 
demarche  qu'elle  m'indiquait.  Je  ne  pus  seulement  que 
remplir  le  devoir  de  la  recommander  a  Mr.  Pinckney,  qui  par- 
tage  avec  sensibilite  le  desir  ardent  de  tous  les  citoyens  des 
Etats  Unis,  de  toutes  les  ames  genereuses  de  voir  rendre  a 
la  liberte  celui  qui  a  si  glorieusement  servi  sa  cause. 

Quoiqu'en  cette  occasion  je  n'ai  eu  que  les  sentiments 
penibles  d'une  volonte  sincere  a  vous  servir,  sans  en  posseder 
les  moyens,  je  vous  prie  d'etre  assuree,  que  si  aux  vceux 
que  je  ne  cesse  de  faire  pour  sa  liberation  et  la  votre,  je  pour- 
rai  jamais  ajouter  le  pouvoir  d'y  contribuer,  je  regarderai 
le  moment  auquel  je  saisirai  cet  avantage  comme  un  des 
plus  heureux  de  ma  vie. 

J'ai  Thonneur  d'etre,  avec  tous  les  sentiments  de  respect 
et  d'admiration  que  vous  commandez  a  tant  de  titres 
Madam,  votre  tres  humble  et  tres  obeissant  serviteur. 


i796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  497 

TO  JOHN   ADAMS 

THE  HAGUE,  June  24,  1796. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

If  the  accounts  received  here  are  well  founded,  the  House 
of  Representatives  have  at  last  passed  the  laws  necessary 
to  execute  on  our  part  the  treaty  with  Britain,  though  by  a 
very  small  majority.1  There  will  therefore  now  be  left  no 
pretext  for  refusing,  or  delaying  any  longer,  the  delivery 
of  the  forts,  and  I  believe  that  it  will  be,  or  rather  that  it 
has  been  done.  If  there  should  be  any  further  cavilling  and 
quibbling  on  this  subject,  I  think  our  government  may  con 
clude  that  all  hope  or  expectation  of  amicable  adjustment  is 
vain,  and  hope  they  will  pursue  such  a  line  of  conduct  as 
will  either  curb  an  insolence  altogether  insupportable,  or 
bring  to  the  test  the  importance  of  our  national  friendship. 

The  American  citizens  partial  to  the  French  interest  that 
I  meet  occasionally,  and  the  French  political  characters  with 
whom  I  have  an  opportunity  to  converse,  all  foretell  with  a 
confidence  which  would  alarm  if  its  motive  were  not  dis- 

1  The  vote  taken  on  April  30  was  fifty-one  ayes  and  forty-eight  nays.  "The 
treaty  to  be  executed,  and  a  majority  of  three  members.  It  is  I  own  rather  better 
than  I  expected,  and  gives  me  great  pleasure,  because  it  will  put  John  [Bull]  upon 
his  good  behavior,  and  either  keep  us  at  bare  peace  with  him,  or  if  we  must  quarrel, 
will  keep  the  right  of  the  cause  on  our  side.  I  trust  he  will  now  give  us  the  forts,  spite 
of  wishes  and  vaticinations  of  you  know  who  [J.  Q.  A.].  If  he  does  not,  I  shall  be 
ready  to  give  him  up,  and  fight  him  at  once."  To  Joseph  Hall,  June  17,  1796.  Ms. 

"I  was  happy  to  find  that  after  all  there  was  a  majority  in  that  house  (a  feeble 
one  indeed),  who  could  make  a  distinction  between  the  right  to  ratify  or  reject,  and 
the  power  to  violate  a  solemn  national  engagement,  and  who  did  not  think  proper  to 
construe  the  latter,  which  they  certainly  possessed,  into  the  former,  which  the  Con 
stitution  has  explicitly  placed  in  other  hands.  I  own  I  did  not  expect  to  find  the 
name  of  Mr.  Madison  among  the  negatives  of  that  vote."  To  Abigail  Adams, 
July  26,  1796.  Ms. 


498  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

cernible,  and  which  even  as  it  is  deserves  attention,  that  the 
forts  will  not  be  delivered  up  according  to  the  treaty,  and 
some  of  them  undertake  particularly  to  specify  the  fort  of 
Niagara,  which  they  say  will  certainly  be  withheld.  This 
confident  foresight,  however,  is  one  of  the  party  manoeuvres. 
They  hoped  that  the  House  of  Representatives  would  make 
such  a  stand  against  the  treaty  as  at  least  to  leave  its  efficacy 
in  suspense  until  after  the  period  designated  for  the  surrender 
of  the  posts.  They  had  no  doubt  but  that  in  that  case  the 
British  government  would  at  least  delay  the  delivery  while 
a  question  on  our  side  remained,  and  they  were  desirous  to 
secure  the  benefit  of  a  future  pretension  that  the  delay  on 
the  part  of  the  British  proceeded,  not  from  the  obstacles 
raised  by  us,  but  from  a  deliberate  and  perfidious  intention 
to  make  a  sport  of  the  most  solemn  obligations.  This  policy 
has  so  long  been  evident  to  me,  that  I  thought  the  party  in 
our  national  representative  body  would  endeavor  only  to 
delay  the  resolve  for  passing  the  necessary  laws,  and  would 
not  venture  out  point-blank  against  their  enactment  at  all. 

As  to  the  good  faith  of  the  British  government  I  have  just 
the  same  opinion  of  it  that  I  have  of  their  friendly  disposition 
towards  the  United  States,  or  of  their  commercial  generos 
ity.  They  are  all  upon  a  level,  and  Heaven  forefend  that 
our  only  dependence  for  their  performance  of  stipulations 
should  ever  rest  upon  either.  But  I  cannot  see  what  pre 
text  they  can  now  raise  to  furnish  a  further  delay,  and  al 
though  the  influential  party  among  them  would  rejoice  at 
an  opportunity  to  go  to  war  with  us,  they  dare  not  do  it 
without  some  plausible  reason  to  stimulate  the  animosity 
of  their  own  people. 

I  feel  therefore  almost  as  confident  that  the  posts  will  be 
delivered  up,  as  my  French  friends  are,  or  appear  to  be,  that 
they  will  not.  I  have  been  obscurely  sounded  both  directly 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  499 

and  indirectly  by  the  French  Minister  here,  to  discover  my 
opinion  upon  the  article  since  my  return  from  England, 
but  have  not  thought  it  consistent  with  my  duty  to  gratify 
his  curiosity. 

But  if  they  should  not,  upon  whatever  pretence  the  denial 
may  be  grounded  it  will  certainly  become  an  important  ob 
ject  with  our  government  to  take  measures  of  preparation 
for  a  state  of  hostility,  which  will  in  that  case,  I  think,  be 
unavoidable,  and  which  will  scarce  be  worth  attempting  any 
longer  to  avoid. 

Our  only  vulnerable  part  will  be  our  commerce;  but  that 
will  for  a  certain  period  of  time  be  very  much  exposed,  and, 
while  the  contest  continues,  must  expect  to  be  totally  sus 
pended  in  our  own  vessels  at  least.  This  last  part  of  the 
evil  will  admit  of  no  preventive  remedy  ;  it  must  follow  from 
the  incontestable  superior  naval  power  of  Britain,  and  is 
proved  sufficiently  by  the  present  experience  of  this  Republic, 
as  well  as  France,  neither  of  which  have,  I  think,  an  ounce 
of  merchandise  afloat  under  their  own  flags  for  any  trade 
but  that  of  coasting,  which  is  likewise  very  insecure. 

Whether  the  government  will  have  the  means  of  providing 
a  shelter  for  any  part  of  the  navigation  that  will  be  in  danger 
of  immediate  capture,  I  am  not  able  to  conjecture.  But 
there  are  some  observations  which  occur  so  frequently  to 
my  mind,  that  I  cannot  avoid  mentioning  them.  If  they 
can  be  of  no  service,  at  least  they  will  do  no  harm. 

It  has  been,  you  know,  the  policy  of  Great  Britain  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years  past,  whenever  she  was  deter 
mined  to  go  to  war  with  any  other  nation,  to  begin  hostilities 
without  giving  any  previous  notice,  to  continue  her  depre 
dations  as  long  as  the  patience  of  her  adverse  party  would 
bear  a  continuance  of  pacific  negotiation,  and  to  amuse 
with  one  expedient  and  another,  until  the  defenceless  navi- 


500  THE   WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

gation  of  the  complaining  power  has  been  ruined,  at  least 
as  much  as  depended  upon  her.  You  know,  likewise,  that 
France  has  by  dear  experience  been  so  clearly  convinced 
that  this  is  the  permanent  British  system,  that  in  the  last 
war  and  the  present  she  has  taken  special  care  to  be  before 
hand  in  the  attack.  From  the  general  disposition  of  the 
British  government  and  nation  towards  the  United  States, 
and  more  especially  from  their  conduct  towards  us  during 
the  present  war,  we  may  be  assured  that  she  will  invariably 
follow  the  same  principles  in  her  differences  with  us.  The 
orders  of  Council  of  the  6th  of  November,  1793,  are  alone  a 
sufficient  proof  of  their  dispositions,  and  indeed,  when  the 
nature  of  the  British  power  is  considered,  the  conclusion  is 
inevitable  that  the  course  can  not  possibly  be  otherwise. 

Let  us  take  it,  therefore,  for  granted  that  such  will  be  the 
maxims  of  the  cabinet,  and  let  us  suppose  that  the  intention 
to  make  an  application  of  them  to  America  should  exist. 
It  is  apparent  that  the  more  the  American  commerce  is 
extended,  the  more  it  will  inevitably  suffer  from  this  species 
of  preliminary  plunder.  These  facts  being  so  clear  make  the 
very  magnitude  of  the  commerce  into  which  our  neutrality 
has  led  our  countrymen  a  subject  of  alarm.  It  appears  evi 
dent  to  me  that  at  this  moment  our  people  are  overtrading, 
that  a  larger  portion  of  the  capital  of  the  country  is  em 
ployed  in  commerce  and  navigation  than  it  can  support, 
and  that  we  shall  suffer  for  it,  either  during  the  war  by 
getting  involved  in  it,  or  at  the  peace  by  the  exclusions  which 
will  naturally  follow  from  the  regulations  of  the  powers  now 
belligerent. 

I  am  apprehensive  that  this  overtrading  will  continue, 
and  have  a  tendency  to  increase  still  further,  the  longer  the 
war  shall  last  without  our  participating  in  it.  Should  this 
be  the  case  we  shall  be  continually  more  exposed  to  injury 


i796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  501 

the  further  we  advance,  and  continually  offer  to  the  rapacity 
of  the  British  navy  a  fairer  object  of  plunder. 

We  have  no  naval  power  of  our  own,  and  from  the  general 
temper  of  our  people  I  suspect  that  they  will  never  submit 
to  the  expense,  without  which  it  can  neither  be  created  nor 
maintained,  until  a  bitter  experience  shall  teach  them  that 
in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  and  with  such  a  nation  as 
Britain  existing,  the  expense  of  a  respectable  naval  power 
is  the  price  which  must  be  paid  for  a  secure  commerce  by 
every  other. 

I  know  not  whether  our  government  is  in  possession  of 
any  means  that  can  restrain  the  boundless  avidity  of  our 
commercial  speculators,  who  seem  in  many  instances  to 
think  that  a  power  which  cannot  exact  obedience  is,  how 
ever,  competent  to  give  protection.  They  will,  therefore, 
venture  upon  the  wildest  commercial  schemes,  and  when 
they  have  brought  them  into  trouble,  curse  the  government 
for  not  helping  them  out.  It  is  a  fact,  which  the  popular 
passions  would  refuse  to  hear,  but  which  I  firmly  believe, 
that  the  stipulations  in  the  British  treaty  which  have  aban 
doned  for  the  present  the  power  of  protecting  enemies' 
property  in  neutral  vessels,  will  have  an  operation  very 
favorable  to  the  United  States  by  checking  that  excessive 
extraordinary  trade,  which  must  be  stopped  entirely  upon 
the  return  of  peace.  The  present  state  of  our  commerce 
may  be  compared  to  a  boiling  fluid  which,  unless  properly 
guarded,  swells  and  overflows  ;  but  upon  subsiding  leaves 
the  vessel  emptied  in  part  of  its  contents. 

I  sometimes  think  that  you  will  judge  from  the  complex 
ion  of  my  letters,  that  my  imagination  is  apt  to  raise  phan 
toms  and  then  tremble  before  them  ;  that  my  opinions  .have 
too  strong  a  tincture  of  timidity  for  the  boldness  necessary 
to  a  political  character.  And  I  freely  confess  that  the  neu- 


502  THE  WRITINGS  OF  [1796 

trality  of  the  United  States  throughout  the  present  war, 
until  its  final  termination,  is  in  my  mind  an  object  of  such 
inestimable  value,  and  involves  so  deeply  the  welfare  not  of 
the  present  age  only  but  of  all  posterity,  that  I  may  perhaps 
be  inclined  to  see  through  a  magnifying  medium  everything 
that  can  have  a  tendency  to  defeat  it.  It  is  certain  that 
France,  and  this  country  too,  are  ardently  desirous  to  engage 
in  the  war.  The  principal  inducements  which  have  hereto 
fore  contributed  to  make  France  acquiesce  in  our  neutrality 
have  recently  been  removed.  They  were  the  debt  which 
we  owed  them,  and  their  dependence  upon  us  for  provisions. 
Their  present  plenty  and  the  prospect  of  an  abundant  har 
vest  make  them  confident  of  producing  sufficient  for  their 
own  subsistence,  and  that  part  of  the  debt  that  remained 
undischarged  has  been  sold  to  a  private  company.  On  the 
other  hand  France  has  a  fair  hope  of  making  an  advantageous 
and  honorable  peace  with  Austria,  her  only  remaining  for 
midable  continental  enemy,  and  she  expects  to  be  soon  left 
to  contend  with  Britain  alone,  whose  relative  situation  is  so 
advantageous  that  there  is  no  prospect  of  her  consenting 
to  a  peace,  such  as  the  French  government  think  themselves 
obliged  to  require.  For  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  situa 
tion  of  Britain  relative  to  France  is  similar  to  that  of  France 
relative  to  the  continental  powers.  The  Dutch  Colonies 
both  of  East  and  West  Indies  are  falling  one  after  another 
into  the  hands  of  the  British.  And  unless  France  can  pro 
cure  some  other  resource  besides  her  maritime  exertions  her 
own  possessions  will  meet  the  same  fate.  That  resource  I 
have  more  than  once  mentioned  to  you  in  my  former  letters. 
It  is  to  distress  the  British  commerce  by  uniting  all  the  mari 
time  powers  in  war  against  her ;  or  rather  by  provoking 
them  all  to  quarrel  with  her.  This  system  was  pursued  with 
Sweden  and  was  on  the  point  of  succeeding,  when  the  Em- 


i796j  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  503 

press  of  Russia  interfered  in  her  usual  style  by  prescribing 
the  most  humiliating  conditions,  to  which  after  some  blus 
tering  Sweden  was  compelled  to  submit.  The  ambassador, 
your  old  acquaintance,  de  Stael,  is  therefore  removed  from 
Paris,  and  the  French  policy  may  be  considered  as  en 
tirely  defeated  at  present  in  Sweden.  The  same  terror 
of  Russia  controls  the  Danish  cabinet,  which  appears  inflex 
ibly  determined  upon  the  preservation  of  neutrality,  though 
they  are  no  less  indignant  than  ourselves  at  the  depredations 
and  insolence  of  the  British.  It  was  but  the  other  day  that 
they  cut  out  a  Dutch  or  French  vessel  from  the  port  of 
Bergen.  The  French  government  complained  in  an  high 
tone,  but  the  final  answer  they  received  was  that  they  had 
been,  and  should  be  protected  as  far  as  the  Danish  govern 
ment  was  able,  but  if  they  expected  their  vessels  to  be  safe, 
they  must  direct  them  to  anchor  only  in  the  ports  that  are 
well  fortified  and  of  strength  beyond  an  insult.  Hamburg 
has  also  resisted  the  French  operations,  which  would  have 
involved  their  city  with  the  Emperor.  But  as  France  had  a 
vast  number  of  their  vessels  in  her  ports,  she  has  dealt  not 
so  ceremoniously  with  them,  but  embargoed  them  all,  and 
now  insists  upon  a  large  sum  as  a  price  of  accommodation.  In 
Spain  the  French  views  have  a  better  prospect  of  success. 
The  differences  between  that  government  and  the  British 
increase,  and  the  harmony  of  the  former  with  the  French 
Republic  is  likewise  augmenting.  The  success  of  the  Italian 
campaign  has  laid  the  princes  of  that  country  at  the  feet 
of  the  Directory,  who  prescribe  to  them  all  their  own  terms 
of  peace.  It  is  said,  and  with  the  greatest  appearance  of 
probability,  that  they  will  require  of  the  King  of  Sardinia,1 
the  Duke  of  Modena,2  the  Pope,3  and  the  King  of  Naples,4 

1  Victor  Amadeus  III.  J  Hercules  III.  3  Pius  VI. 

4  Ferdinand  IV,  who  married  Maria  Carolina,  daughter  of  Maria  Theresa. 


504  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

as  indispensable  terms,  such  stipulations  as  will  exclude  the 
British  from  all  their  dominions.  Tuscany  is  indeed  a 
neutral  power,  but  will  be  so  much  at  the  mercy  of  the 
French,  that  the  government  will  no  doubt  be  very  much 
under  their  influence.  As  to  their  respect  for  neutral  rights, 
they  may  be  inferred  from  what  the  Commander-in-chief 
Buonaparte  writes  recently  to  the  Directory.  He  has  taken 
possession  of  Verona  in  the  Venetian  territory,  and  of  course 
a  neutral  city.  But  it  seems  the  French  pretender  not  long 
since  had  resided  there,  and  Buonaparte  says,  that  if  he  had 
not  been  gone  before  his  arrival,  he  would  have  set  fire  to 
the  city  for  having  the  insolence  to  think  itself  the  capital 
of  the  French  Empire. 

It  is  not  improbable,  therefore,  that  they  will  be  able  to 
shut  the  whole  Italian  market  against  the  British  navigation, 
and  if  so  it  will  become  very  difficult  for  the  British  to  retain 
Corsica,  or  to  maintain  their  commerce  in  the  Black  Sea. 
The  French  therefore  have  a  fair  prospect  of  excluding  their 
enemy  from  the  benefit  of  trade  with  all  Europe,  excepting 
only  the  Baltic,  and  it  is  the  power  of  Russia  which  alone 
will  hinder  them  from  obtaining  the  same  advantage  there. 
If  in  addition  to  this  they  can  equally  deprive  her  of  all  the 
immense  advantages  of  the  American  market,  they  think, 
and  with  great  appearance  of  reason,  that  the  British  com 
merce  must  decline,  so  as  to  occasion  a  deficiency  of  revenue, 
a  loss  of  credit,  perhaps  a  deficiency  of  natural  payments, 
and  such  a  general  distress  and  clamor  for  peace,  as  will 
bring  the  haughtiness  of  Britain  down  to  the  modesty  even 
of  a  pacification  at  the  expense  of  many  sacrifices ;  or  per 
haps  they  flatter  themselves  with  the  still  more  pleasing 
hope  of  seeing  their  inveterate  and  deadly  rival  a  completely 
ruined  nation. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted,  therefore,  but  that  France  will 


I7Q6]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  505 

use  all  the  influence  in  her  power  to  produce  a  war  between 
the  United  States  and  Britain.  What  her  influence  is  at 
all  times,  and  what  her  talents  at  exerting  it,  are  perfectly 
well  known  to  you.  But  there  is  one  cause  operating  at 
present  which  gives  unusual  weight  to  her  influence,  and  of 
which  few  people  among  us  I  believe  are  aware.  The  public 
opinion  in  America  concerning  European  affairs  is  in  a  con 
siderable  degree  formed  from  the  representations  of  the 
Americans  arriving  occasionally  from  Europe,  or  writing 
from  some  part  of  it  to  their  friends.  But  it  so  happens 
that  nine-tenths  of  the  Americans  both  in  France  and  Eng 
land,  have  powerful  motives  both  of  feeling  and  of  interest 
to  bias  their  judgments,  to  make  them  favorable  to  the 
French  cause  and  adverse  to  the  British.  The  motives  of 
feeling  arise  not  only  from  the  popularity  which  the  ideas  of 
a  struggle  for  liberty  have  given  to  the  French,  but  from  the 
difference  of  treatment  that  our  countrymen  experience  in 
the  two  countries.  In  the  general  treatment  of  strangers 
the  French  manners  are  captivating,  the  English  are  re 
pulsive.  In  the  particular  sentiments  towards  Americans 
which  give  the  tone  to  the  behavior  of  individuals,  those  of 
France  are  amicable  and  attractive,  those  of  England  always 
cold  and  distant,  generally  insolent  and  overbearing,  and  not 
unfrequently  contemptuous  and  malignant.  It  is  impossible 
for  any  American  having  the  common  feelings  of  a  man,  to 
be  conversant  with  the  two  nations,  without  contracting 
an  instinctive  propensity  of  good  will  towards  the  former, 
and  of  malevolence  or  at  least  of  resentment  towards  the 
latter.  The  motives  of  interest  have  the  same  tendency. 
Great  numbers  of  the  Americans  in  France  have  debts  due 
to  them  from  the  French  government.  Almost  all  have 
speculated,  either  in  the  purchase  of  confiscated  estates,  or 
of  assignats  or  in  some  other  manner  upon  revolutionary 


5o6  THE  WRITINGS   OF  [1796 

ground.  It  is  not  necessary  to  reason  at  any  great  length,  in 
order  to  show  that  the  private  interest  of  all  such  persons  is 
concerned  in  the  success  of  France  through  the  war,  and  in  her 
attainment  of  an  advantageous  peace.  On  the  other  hand 
the  Americans  in  England  are  almost  universally  indebted 
more  or  less  to  the  British  merchants,  and  they  generally 
believe  that  a  war  between  the  United  States  and  Britain 
would  serve  as  a  sponge  for  their  debts,  or  at  least  relieve 
them  from  payment  as  long  as  it  should  last,  and  leave  them 
in  the  meantime  possessed  of  the  capital  upon  which  the 
debts  arose.  There  are  some  Americans,  and  they  are  among 
the  number  of  those  whose  abilities  give  their  statements 
and  representations  the  greatest  weight,  who  have  all  those 
motives  operating  upon  them  at  once,  who  are  at  the  same 
time  debtors  to  British  merchants,  creditors  to  the  French 
government,  and  speculators  in  all  the  French  revolutionary 
funds,  all  to  an  immense  amount.  These  persons  as  credi 
tors  of  the  French  government,  if  not  in  any  other  capacity, 
have  access  to  many  members  of  the  legislative  and  execu 
tive  bodies.  With  all  their  incentives  of  feeling  and  of 
interest  they  are  not  only  stimulated  to  wish  well  to  France, 
but  may  be  sensible  that  they  cannot  ingratiate  themselves 
better  than  by  contributing  to  the  furtherance  of  the  French 
views ;  and  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  the 
whole  weight  and  influence  of  such  people  in  America  are 
far  from  being  friendly  to  the  peace  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  easy  to  conceive  how  much  energy  this  kind  of  com 
bination  may  have  acquired,  by  a  regular  intercourse  and 
concerted  operations  with  the  principal  partizans  for  war 
in  the  United  States,  as  the  force  of  such  concert  would  be 
but  the  more  efficacious  for  being  secret. 

There  is  nothing,  therefore,  but  a  peace  between  France 
and  Britain  that  can  extricate  us  from  the  danger  of  being 


1796]  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  507 

sooner  or  later  involved  in  the  quarrel.  But  at  the  same 
time,  it  is  evident  that  the  state  of  affairs  at  present  makes 
it  more  than  ever  the  interest  of  the  British  government  to 
avoid  a  rupture  with  us.  The  longer  the  war  continues,  the 
more  that  interest  will  increase,  from  the  double  cause  of 
their  constant  weakening  and  our  continually  growing 
strength.  These  circumstances  will  not  be  overlooked  I 
trust  by  the  American  government,  nor  by  whatever  negotia 
tion  shall  finish  the  business  relative  to  the  late  treaty. 
That  subject  will  be  of  extreme  delicacy  ;  for  on  the  one  hand 
it  will  offer  abundant  occasions  to  try  seriously  the  degree 
of  pliability  of  which  the  British  cabinet  is  capable,  and  on 
the  other  there  will  be  some  danger  of  straining  that  string 
too  far.  By  the  full  effect  that  is  now  given  to  the  treaty 
on  our  part,  the  advantage  of  justice  appears  to  be  altogether 
on  our  side,  and  if  we  must  eventually  try  the  temper  of  our 
swords,  that  circumstance  will  at  least  afford  a  great  con 
solation. 

From  some  of  the  facts  upon  which  these  observations 
are  founded  there  may  be  drawn  an  inference,  that  in  all 
times  of  maritime  war  the  closest  possible  attention  is  to  be 
paid  by  the  American  minister  in  England  to  the  proceed 
ings  of  the  Privy  Council.  It  is  upon  orders  proceeding 
from  them  that  all  the  captures  by  the  king's  ships  and 
privateers  are  founded,  and  when  the  object  of  the  govern 
ment  is  to  negotiate  and  plunder  at  the  same  time,  as  long  as 
the  patience  of  those  whom  they  injure  may  last,  these  orders 
arc  kept  as  secret  as  possible.  It  should,  therefore,  I  think 
be  a  standing  instruction  to  our  minister  at  that  Court  when 
ever  they  are  at  war,  to  use  all  the  endeavors  in  his  power  to 
obtain  information  of  the  secret  orders  of  Council  to  the 
commanders  of  armed  vessels.  I  know  not  how  far  it  could 
at  any  time  be  effected,  but  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  the 


So8    THE  WRITINGS  OF  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS    [1796] 

day  will  come  when  such  information,  if  procured  at  the 
time  when  the  orders  are  resolved  on,  will  prove  of  the  ut 
most  utility  to  the  protection  of  our  commercial  property. 

I  remain  &C.1 


1  "It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  violence  and  rapacity  of  a  superior  naval 
strength  drove  this  Republic  very  reluctantly  to  a  war  towards  the  close  of  our 
contest  with  Britain.  It  is  equally  true  that  this  Republic  alone  of  all  the  comba 
tants  at  that  time  against  Great  Britain  was  compelled  after  suffering  immense 
losses  to  acquiesce  in  a  peace  without  indemnity,  without  satisfaction,  and  at  the 
expense  of  great  commercial  and  some  territorial  sacrifices. 

"The  present  war  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  was  at  one  time  justified  by  some 
members  of  the  government  as  undertaken  in  defence  of  the  commercial  rights  of  the 
United  Provinces.  The  progress  of  this  defence  has  been  to  bring  the  Allies  into 
a  war  against  each  other,  and,  whether  defending  or  assaulting,"the  sole  purpose  that 
is  invariably  and  inflexibly  pursued  is  that  of  annihilating  the  Dutch  commercial 
and  maritime  power. 

"This  system  of  policy  is  not  applied  to  the  Dutch  alone,  but  to  every  nation 
that  has  a  vessel  floating  upon  the  ocean.  It  is  pursued  with  so  much  perseverance 
and  ability  as  well  as  with  such  extraordinary  exertions  of  strength,  that  it  becomes 
a  consideration  of  no  inconsiderable  magnitude  to  the  government  of  every  commer 
cial  people  to  counteract  a  project  so  pernicious  to  their  welfare. 

"The  object  is  undoubtedly  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  United  States, 
because  they,  from  their  situation,  their  prospects  and  their  character,  may  depend 
upon  having  the  whole  weight  of  the  policy  directed  against  them ;  and  because 
according  to  the  present  state  of  things,  they  alone  of  all  the  nations  upon  earth  may 
rationally  hope  to  possess  the  means  of  restoring  the  British  views  to  a  greater 
conformity  with  the  equitable  principles  of  natural  right. 

"As  far  as  the  experience  of  this  country  can  serve  as  a  guide,  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  proper  mode  of  resistance  against  the  exclusive  ambition  of  Britain  is  by 
making  war  without  an  adequate  naval  force  to  meet  them  upon  the  sea."  To  the 
Secretary  of  State,  June  16,  1796.  Ms. 

"I  hope  it  will  not  be  thought  impertinent  if  I  take  this  occasion  to  observe 
that  since  the  United  States  have  acquired  the  consideration  in  Europe  that  the 
prosperous  administration  of  the  national  government  has  given  them,  the  Euro 
pean  cabinets  have  naturally  increased  their  attention  to  its  proceedings.  In  Eng 
land  I  think  it  may  be  taken  as  a  general  fact,  that  the  Ministry  are  informed  of 
the  proceedings  of  Congress  and  of  the  American  news,  about  three  weeks  earlier 
than  the  American  Minister.  Even  in  this  country  their  intelligence  is  often  more 
recent  than  mine."  To  the  Secretary  of  State,  June  22,  1796.  Ms. 


HPHE  following  pages  contain  advertisements  of  a  few  of  the 
important  biographies  published  by  the  Macmillan  Company 


Correspondence  of  William  Pitt 

When    Secretary   of    State   with  Colonial   Governors    and 
Military  and   Naval  Commissioners  in  America 

Edited   under  the  auspices  of  The  National  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of 
America. 

BY   GERTRUDE    SELWYN    KIMBALL 

Two  Volumes.     Cloth,  illustrated,  Svo,  $6.00  net;  postage  extra 

"This  collection  presents  in  chronological  order  all  that  is  of  historical  impor 
tance  in  the  correspondence  of  Pitt  with  the  colonial  governors  and  naval  and  mili 
tary  commanders,  on  the  continent  of  North  America  and  in  the  West  Indies,  during 
those  years  in  which  he  held  the  position  of  secretary  of  state.  It  is  a  valuable  work 
on  the  colonial  period  of  our  history.  The  documents  have  been  copied  from  the 
originals  in  the  Public  Record  Office  in  London."  —  Critic. 

The  Letters  of  Richard  Henry  Lee 

Collected  and  Edited  by  JAMES  CURTIS  BALLAGH,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Associate 
Professor  of  American  History  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

Vol.  I.     Cloth,  Svo,  467  pp.,  $2.50  net ;  by  mail,  $2.69 

"Another  valuable  source  of  history  is  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  general  reader. 
The  volume  is  full  of  first-hand  information,  and  provides  not  only  interesting  read 
ing,  but  throws  new  light  upon  the  most  critical  period  of  our  history."  —  Brooklyn 
Citizen. 

"  It  contains  about  five  hundred  letters  written  by  Richard  Henry  Lee  to  various 
persons,  all  of  them  reliable  texts,  taken  from  original  manuscripts  or  transcripts, 
many  of  them  of  great  public  and  historical  importance,  much  of  it  preserved  by  his 
correspondents,  scattered  widely  here  or  there.  Lee's  distinguished  public  services, 
patriotically  given  to  the  founding  and  development  of  the  American  Republic, 
together  with  the  wisdom  and  loyalty  which  characterized  these  services,  render 
these  'Letters'  very  valuable.  They  constitute  a  contribution  of  rare  value  to  the 
historical  and  colonial  literature  of  the  country." —  Telescope. 

"A  welcome  and  valuable  addition  to  the  documentary  history  of  the  Revo 
lution." —  New  York  Sun. 

"The  letters  will  be  welcomed  for  their  historical  as  well  as  intrinsic  value  for 
biographical  purposes."  —  Boston  Herald. 

"An  important  contribution  to  historical  literature  and  should  prove  deeply 
interesting  to  the  student  and  entertaining  to  any  reader."  —  Baltimore  Evening  Sun. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


The  Life  of  Benjamin  Disraeli 
Earl  of  Beaconsfield 

By    WILLIAM    FLAVELLE   MONYPENNY 

Vol.  7,  1804-1837 
Vol.  II,  1837-1852 

Each  illustrated,  cloth  Sw,  401  pages,  $3.00  net;  by  mail,  $3.18 


"  Benjamin  Disraeli  was  doubtless  one  of  the  most  picturesque,  brilliant,  and 
astute  politicians  that  England  ever  produced.  There  are  few  of  the  older  men 
of  this  generation,  familiar  with  the  political  events  of  the  Victoria  period  of 
British  history,  who  have  not  formed  firm  convictions  of  this  man's  character 
and  influence.  He  was  in  all  probability  the  most  aggressive  statesman,  and  the 
most  highly  praised  and  severely  criticised  man  that  ever  rose  to  fame  and  in 
fluence  in  the  British  Parliament.  Although  dead  for  a  generation,  men  have 
not  ceased  to  wonder  at  the  enormous  success  he  was  able  to  achieve  against 
odds  which,  to  ordinary  mortals,  would  have  seemed  impossible  barriers."  — 
Boston  Herald. 

"  It  is  on  the  whole  a  very  human,  though  egotistical  Disraeli  that  the  biog 
rapher  gives  us,  brilliant,  witty,  ambitious,  but  by  no  means  the  unscrupulous 
adventurer  that  the  late  Goldwin  Smith  and  other  enemies  have  depicted.  His 
best  defence  is  his  own  personal  letters,  which  the  author  has  wisely  allowed  to 
constitute  the  bulk  of  the  book."  —  Chicago  Record- Herald. 

"  Disraeli  had  extraordinary  powers,  infinite  ambition,  audacious  genius  and 
industry,  and  in  tracing  thirty-three  years  of  this  extraordinary  career  Mr.  Mony- 
penny  has  made  a  book  vitally  interesting  in  its  revelation  of  character."  — Des 
Moines  Capital. 

"  The  volume  leaves  Disraeli  just  as  he  entered  upon  his  parliamentary  career, 
and  if  the  material  for  the  succeeding  volumes  is  handled  as  frankly  as  that  used 
in  the  present,  the  biography  should  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  recent 
years.  Disraeli  had  a  far  more  picturesque  personality  than  Gladstone,  and  the 
biographies  of  the  two  great  rivals  furnish  interesting  comparisons."  —  World 
To-Day. 


THE  MACM1LLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


"THE    BEST   BIOGRAPHY   OF  A   GREAT   MAN    EVER   WRITTEN" 

The  Life  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone 

By  the  Rt.  Hon.  JOHN  MORLEY 

Editor  of  "English  Men  of  Letters,"  Author  of  "Burke,"  "Machiavelli,"  "Walpole," 

"  On  Compromise,"  "  Voltaire,"  "  Rousseau,"  "  Richard 

Cobden,"  "  Studies  in  Literature." 

New  edition  in  two  volumes.     Cloth,  Svo,  $5.00  net 

"The  work  before  us  has  more  than  fulfilled  our  expectations;  it  is  indeed  a 
masterpiece  of  historical  writing,  of  which  the  interest  is  absorbing,  the  author 
ity  indisputable,  and  the  skill  consummate."  —  The  Saturday  Review,  London. 

"  It  is  a  great  task  greatly  achieved,  a  grand  portraiture  of  a  grand  subject  on  a 
great  scale  and  in  a  worthy  style."  —  The  Spectator,  London. 

"The  volumes  show  a  powerful  intellect  and  a  practised  hand,  controlled  by  the 
loftiest  principles,  at  work  upon  a  great  theme  in  a  spirit  of  absolute  impartial 
ity." —  New  York  Tribune. 

"A  wonderful  and  satisfying  portrait  ...  an  absorbing  story  of  palpitating 
life."  —  The  Evening  Sun,  New  York. 


Correspondence  on 
Church  and  Religion  of 
William  Ewart  Gladstone 


Selected  and  Arranged  by  D.  C.  LATHBURY 

Two  volumes.     Cloth,  Svo,  illustrated,  $5.00  net,  expressagc  extra 

The  work  of  the  Right  Hon.  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  one  of  England's  noblest 
statesmen,  has  always  claimed  serious  attention.  In  this  selection  from  his  cor 
respondence,  covering  a  period  of  over  sixty  years  of  eventful  history,  will  be 
found  the  carefully  considered  views  of  a  free  and  untrammeled  thinker  on  the 
momentous  religious  controversies  and  movements  of  his  period,  chronologically 
arranged  under  the  following  headings: 

VOL.  I.  Church  and  State,  1829-1894.  —  Ecclesiastical  Patronage  and  Univer 
sity  Reform,  1869-1885.  —  The  Oxford  Movement,  1840-1894.  —  The  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church,  1858-1862. 

VOL.  II.  Oxford  Elections,  1847-1865. — The  Controversy  with  Rome,  1850- 
1896.  — The  Controversy  with  Unbelief,  1864-1896.  —  Education,  1843-1894.— 
Letters  of  Mr.  Gladstone  to  his  Children,  1847-1893. —Personal,  1826-1896. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


Rambling  Recollections 


By  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  HENRY  DRUMMOND  WOLFF, 
G.C.B.,  G.C.M.G. 

Two  volumes,  cloth,  8vo,  $7.50  net 

"  The  most  valuable  parts  of  the  book  are  those  chapters  devoted  to  the  British 
administration  of  the  Ionian  Islands;  the  account  of  Wolff's  interviews  with  a 
number  of  the  prominent  European  statesmen  just  prior  to  the  Congress  of 
Berlin  of  1878;  the  description  of  the  organization  of  East  Rumelia,  pursuant 
to  the  treaty  formulated  by  that  Congress,  and  the  story  of  the  instigation  of  the 
treaty  with  Turkey,  upon  which  is  based  the  legality  of  England's  present  anom 
alous  position  in  Egypt.  Of  great  interest  also  are  the  personal  impressions  of 
the  Franco-Prussian  War,  and  the  detailed  account  of  Lytton's  strange  interest 
in  occult  phenomena,  to  which  he  gave  expression  in  '  Zanoni,'  and  in  some  of 
his  other  novels."  —  New  York  Times. 

"Sir  Henry  Drummond  Wolff 's  volume  is  interesting  in  another  way.  It  is 
crammed  full  of  anecdotes  of  all  kinds  of  people  in  all  kinds  of  circles —  relig 
ious,  diplomatic,  parliamentary,  social,  literary.  The  work  corroborates  the 
statements  often  made  that  Sir  Henry  is  a  raconteur  par  excellence,  while  it 
also  proves  him  to  be  a  first-class  diplomatist,  with  a  fine  memory  and  a  keen 
eye  and  ear.  He  has  many  stories  of  his  wrork  and  experiences  in  Madrid, 
Roumania,  Egypt,  France,  and  America,  as  well  as  of  his  House  of  Commons 
period.  Here  is  a  tale  about  the  future  Lord  Beaconsfield :  Mr.  Disraeli  used 
generally  to  walk  home  from  the  House  of  Commons,  usually  in  the  society  of 
Lord  Henry  Lennox.  One  night,  rather  late,  I  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Whitehall  as  the  house  was  breaking  up,  and  I  met  Mr.  Disraeli  alone.  He 
asked  me  to  accompany  him,  and  we  canvassed  the  prospects  of  the  govern 
ment.  I  said  to  him,  as  there  was  some  talk  of  the  government  resigning,  '  I 
suppose  you  will  be  prime  minister.'  He  answered  'In  the  extraordinary  course 
of  things.'  "  —  Chicago  Record- Her  aid. 

Life  of  Lord  Randolph  Churchill 

By  W.  S.   CHURCHILL 

Two  -volumes,  cloth,  i2mo,  illustrated,  $9.00  net 

"  These  two  volumes  form  the  stormy  record  of  a  stormy  life.  That  they  should 
be  more  or  less  partisan  was  to  be  expected,  that  they  should  be  more  or  less 
colored  by  personal  prejudice  was  also  certain,  yet  they  are  on  the  whole  a  fairer 
and  more  comprehensive  consideration  of  the  man  and  his  work  than  could  have 
been  written  by  any  one  else.  They  form  a  permanent  addition  to  political 
history,  and  they  prove  that  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  is  a  worthy  member  of  his 
distinguished  family."  —  Boston  Evening  Transcript. 

"Disraeli  had  great  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  Lord  Randolph  as  a  young  man. 
He  gave  the  Fourth  Party  movement  his  approval  at  the  outset.  Perhaps  he 
sympathized  with  any  other  man  who  undertook  again  what  he  had  so  triumph 
antly  accomplished,  the  remaking  of  the  Tory  party  by  bringing  it  in  touch  with 
democracy.  .  .  .  His  weakness  as  a  statesman  was  an  inability  to  act  along 
with  others.  He  offended  Queen  Victoria,  he  alienated  Lord  Salisbury,  and  he 
quarreled  with  his  intimate  political  associates.  But  he  saw  clearly,  and  he  pre 
dicted  the  fast-approaching  time  when  labor  laws  will  be  made  by  labor  interest 
for  the  advantage  of  labor.  These  volumes  are  the  record  of  the  most  splendid 
failure  in  the  political  history  of  England."  — Philadelphia  Press. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


Abraham  Lincoln :  The  Boy  and  the  Man 

BY  JAMES    MORGAN 

WITH  MANY  INTERESTING   PORTRAITS  AND  OTHER   ILLUSTRATIONS 

MANY  OF  THEM  SECURED  FOR  THE  BOOK  FROM 

PRIVATE  COLLECTIONS 

Cloth,  $1.50 

You  may  already  know  the  great  events  of  Lincoln's  life,  but  you  will  still 
find  this  simple,  clear,  straightforward  story  of  the  early  hard  work,  the 
slow  study  for  the  practice  of  law,  the  single-minded  stand  "for  the  Un 
ion,"  and  the  brave,  quiet  facing  of  every  difficulty,  the  most  fascinating 
record  of  any  human  life  which  you  have  known. 

The  Chicago  Tribune  says  of  it  editorially :  "  It  tells  the  life  story  well. 
It  is  interesting.  It  is  well  written.  It  gives  the  significant  facts  one 
wants  to  know.1' 

The  Seven  Ages  of  Washington 

BY   OWEN    WISTER 

Attractively  bound,  illustrated  in  photogravure,  $2.00  net 

The  New  York  Tribune  says  of  it :  " « The  Seven  Ages  of  Washington ' 
.  .  .  gives  a  remarkable  interpretation  of  its  subject.  .  .  It  is  plain 
that  the  author  has  been  moved  to  the  depths  of  him  by  his  hero's  worth, 
finding  in  the  traditionally  'cold1  figure  of  Washington  a  type  to  touch 
the  emotions  as  vividly  as  Napoleon  touches  them  in  even  his  most  dra 
matic  moments.  He  passes  on  his  impression  in  a  few  chapters  which 
gather  up  everyday  traits  as  they  come  out  in  letters  and  other  records. 
The  salient  events  in  Washington's  career,  military  and  political,  are  in 
dicated  rather  than  dwelt  upon.  The  object  of  interest  is  always  his 
character ;  the  things  placed  in  the  foreground  are  the  episodes,  great  or 
small,  which  show  us  that  character  in  action  or  point  to  the  sources  of 
its  development.  .  .  The  background,  like  the  portrait,  is  handled 
with  perfect  discretion.  The  reader  who  is  searching  for  an  authorita 
tive  biography  of  Washington,  brief,  and  made  humanly  interesting  from 
the  first  page  to  the  last,  will  find  it  here  " 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


14  DAY 
RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

202  Main  Libra' 


LOAN  PERIOD  1 

U(TM^AC  LlCC 

4 


ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

1  -month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405 

6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books  to  Circulation  Desk 

Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


MAY  2  6  1982  1 

BEC.  CIS,    MAY  2  0  1382 

'2  Apr    '" 

MAR  1     1984 

4yr  i  m^ 

BEG.  CIR.  TO    7  "84 

JUN  0  B  1991 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BER 
FORM  NO.  DD6,  60m,  12/80        BERKELEY  CA  94720 


U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


25771 1 


